Geki Naruto
by Kamen Rider Chrome
Summary: My idea and written by Ten-Faced Paladin. When an 8 year old Naruto is taken by Sha-Fu to be trained in GekiJyuKen, he returns four years later changed and with some new friends. Hope Konoha is ready for the trickster's new tricks.
1. Lesson 1: Naruto's intro to JyuKen

Chapter 1: Naruto's Introduction to Jyuken

In the Hidden Countries which were nestled in an obviously hidden portion of the world, there existed the country known as Hi no Kuni or to others, the Land of Fire. It was one of the most prosperous nations among all the hidden countries. Within this country was a village dedicated to the way of the ninja. This place was called Konohagakure no Sato, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, or just Konoha for short.

Despite what it stood for, Konoha was a relatively peaceful place. The citizens worked hard to make their economy and businesses work. Most of the population were ninjas, used to be ninjas, or were teaching the next generation of ninjas.

It was hard to believe that they were attacked by the strongest demon in existence.

In the Hidden Countries, there existed nine demons of such incredible power; they were given a class of their own. They were known as Biju, the tailed demons. The weakest was known as Shukaku, the one-tailed tanuki, while the strongest was Kyuubi, the nine-tailed fox.

Eight years ago, Konoha was attacked by Kyuubi for reasons unknown to anyone but the demon itself. It had been a long siege and many lives were lost to the powerful beast. Soon, the greatest ninja in the village, known as the Yondaime Hokage, gave up his life to seal the beast with the power of a death god. The Kyuubi was then sealed inside the belly of a newborn child.

That child's name was Uzumaki Naruto.

After the sealing of the Kyuubi and death of the Yondaime, the previous Hokage, known as the Sandaime, came out of retirement to lead Konoha. He was besieged by many to kill little Naruto or make him into their weapon simply because they believed him to be the Kyuubi reborn. Things became so bad, the Sandaime made it a law not to talk about what had occurred and he enforced that law with the utmost prejudice. He made the law hoping that Naruto would be able to grow up without having to deal with the stigma of being called the Kyuubi.

Unfortunately, being people who lived in a ninja village, they discovered ways around that law.

Growing up, Naruto had been treated as if he was the lowest piece of trash in the universe. It was a challenge just to find any nurses to help him while he was an infant or doctors who would treat him rather than ignore his cries. When he was old enough, he was placed in an orphanage, but the director showed him no care. He was deprived of all the things the other orphans had and was given only the bare essentials. He was pointedly ignored as prospective families came looking for a little one to adopt and the director often snapped at him for little or no reason.

At the age of five, Naruto was thrown out of the orphanage and left to rot. The Sandaime discovered this and gave Naruto an apartment to call his own with a small sum of money to help him get what he needed. Sadly, merchants would often refuse to serve him or charge him ridiculously jacked-up prices for their worst wares. Often, Naruto went to bed cold or hungry because he couldn't get what he needed.

Often when his birthday rolled around, there was a festival to celebrate the victory over the Kyuubi. Often these just ended up with some of the older people getting drunk and deciding to 'finish the Yondaime's work' and try to find Naruto. Sometimes they did, and sometimes they didn't. Little Naruto was lucky that he had advanced healing or else he would have died, but that only convinced people that he was the Kyuubi.

Soon enough, Naruto was able to go to school, but his trouble didn't lessen much. A number of the teachers would ignore Naruto or snap at him when he asked a question. He would often have to study alone since a number of parents in Konoha told their children to stay away from him for a number of reasons.

Although, it isn't said that this was a large constant in his life. He would face this discrimination now and again but he got used to it. To deal with being ignored, Naruto took up the fine art of pranking to get attention for himself. He was a regular guest in the Hokage's office to receive punishment for his gags.

Naruto wasn't entirely friendless either. Sandaime was a close confidant of his and always had time for him. Another was one of his teachers, Iruka, who would often treat him to ramen or some other treat when he was feeling down. He got along well with some of his other classmates, who were misfits in their own ways. His favorite ones were Teuchi and Ayame Ichiraku who ran his favorite ramen stand. A lot of people found his pranks amusing too, even though most of the ninjas found them annoying.

At the moment, Naruto was eight years old. He wanted to be a ninja more than anything else so he could be the next Hokage. He was out by the river trying to train in the school's Taijutsu style since none of the instructors present wanted to help him. He couldn't go to a proper training field since they were being used and no one wanted to share. The others needed him to be a ninja before he could go in. All that was left were wild areas like this.

"Yah! Yah!" Naruto cried as he punched a tree. His blonde hair was spiked wildly and sweat glistened down his face, over the whisker marks on his cheeks. He was wearing a black t-shirt and orange shorts. Hardly suitable training attire, but it was the only clothes he owned save for his pajamas.

A particularly hard punch to a tree left several cuts in his hands, which healed instantly. Sadly, he could still feel the pain and recoiled with a groan.

"Ow," he mumbled, checking to see if the wounds were bleeding. He heaved a sigh. "Stupid teachers. Why won't they let me learn any of the good stuff?"

Shaking his hands to get the feeling back into them, Naruto decided to try out his kicks. Once his hands got better, he would move back to his punches again.

Little did he know that someone had taken an interest in how he trained.

* * *

Sha-Fu was a feline who liked to travel the world. He had taken many travels since the GekiRin Rebellion and now that he had some time to himself since joining SCRCT, he decided some more travels were in order.

Sha-Fu did not look like a normal individual. In fact, he looked more like a cat than he did a human. His face had a furry feline look along with the ears to go with it. His hands were actually paws and a tail came from his waist. He wore a dark red bodysuit while a blue sash went with it. Heavy boots were on his feet to help with the travel.

He hadn't always looked like this. In fact, he and his friends, Sharkie Chan, Bat Li, Michelle Peng, Gorie Yen, Bion Biao, and Elehung Gambou used to look normal. That all changed when their former friends Maku, Rageku, and Kata created their little rebellion.

You see, Sha-Fu was a master of a fighting style called GekiJyuKen, which was a discipline based on the movements of animals. Shafu's personal expertise lay with the Felis-Ken, or Felis-Fist. Sharkie, Li, Michelle, Gorie, Bion, and Elehung had all created and mastered their own versions of it, calling themselves Kensei. Maku, Rageku, and Kata had their own, calling themselves Kenma.

The Kensei firmly believed that positive emotions were the groundwork needed to become strong. Shafu firmly felt that the three aspects of the GekiJyuKen, Unbreakable Body, Fantastic Technique, and Honest Heart was only the beginning in learning GekiJyuKen.

The Kenma unfortunately, felt that negative emotions were a better source of strength. Anger, hate, and jealousy were their personal feelings. They believed this so much that they made their own school, the RinJyuDen Akugata, a school of violence, destruction, and pain.

It was only natural that the schools would come into conflict. In a battle known as the GekiRin Rebellion, the Kenma were defeated and sealed away by the Kensei, at the price of their humanity, turning them all into human-animal hybrids whom never aged.

Sha-Fu's thoughts were currently on his last students, Dan, Miki, Gou, and Rio. They were all very promising students. Dan had mastered White Tiger-Ken and was probably the strongest of his students. Gou was showing promise with his Wolf-Ken, even if he couldn't use Geki or Ringi, but something else called Shigeki. Miki was probably his brightest student, which showed in her Leopard-Ken. Rio was by far the most aggressive with his Lion-Ken.

Things had turned badly. Dan had been murdered and his village was destroyed. It was assumed Rio had done it since he had left Shafu's tutelage earlier that day. Gou had been lost in a fight with Rio and was feared to be never seen again. Only Miki was left and she was getting more pressure from her family to take over in SCRCT. It had been years since that day, but it was still fresh in Sha-Fu's mind.

Sha-Fu had decided to travel through the Hidden Countries since he had not been there for some time. The last time he had been there, he met a young man named Sarutobi who had just been declared the Hokage. Sha-Fu liked the country because it reminded him of simpler times where he was still training with his nine friends and master. There was no RinJyuDen and there was no rebellion. They were just young people searching for skill and strength.

Entering Konoha had been easy since he still could use his Felis-Ken skills, even if he had sworn to never fight again. He had nothing against ninjas, but they were notoriously suspicious of everything and his appearance would not help things. He could have fought them off, but Sha-Fu did not think like that. Violence only brought more violence and he had enough of that. Believing violence solved problems was what caused the GekiRin Rebellion in the first place.

Moving through some of the dense forest, Sha-Fu admired the scenery of Konoha from afar. He noticed that a fourth face had been added to the Hokage monument since he had last been to the hidden leaf village. It seemed a new Hokage had been elected. Well, Sarutobi was probably getting on in years so it stood to reason he would choose a successor.

Enjoying the scenery, Sha-Fu's feline hearing alerted him to the sounds of someone hitting something. Slightly concerned in case someone was being hurt, Sha-Fu decided to see what the source was. Moving through some foliage, Sha-Fu came to a small clearing. Over by a river was a small boy with blonde hair. He was kicking at a tree with what looked like a martial art of some kind. It was incredibly sloppy and looked self-taught to an extent. To Sha-Fu's trained eyes, it seemed the boy had witnessed the moves, but hadn't received any true training in the style it came from.

'_A waste too,_' Sha-Fu pondered. '_He looks like he has some considerable potential._'

He used his trained eyes to take in the boy's appearance. The boy had considerable toughness if he could keep kicking at the tree like he had been. There was also a considerable amount of Geki, or what ninjas called Chakra, in him. However, what caught Sha-Fu's attention most was the deep well of Ringi that was trapped inside of his stomach. It was expertly sealed with something akin to Genki, but oppositely charged. Still, it was being filtered into his body and at the rate it was going, by the time he was fully grown, he would be a powerhouse. Still, there was an underlying feeling of Ringi in his normal body which hinted at a troubled past. His Geki far outbalanced it, but there was far too much Ringi for a normal child to have even if he was slightly troubled. Something bad was happening to this boy and if it kept up, he might become something equal to the Kenma if he got some proper training.

Sighing, Sha-Fu made his decision. Since his most recent students had finished their studies under him and the Kensei, it might be time for another student. Besides, Sha-Fu had a soft spot for children, especially those in need. Steeling himself, the master of Felis-Ken moved to introduce himself.

Naruto kicked at the tree again, feeling his foot getting sore again. He would have to switch feet soon or at least go to his punches again. He was close to finishing for the day since the sun was getting low and he didn't have his evening bowl of ramen yet.

"Not bad," a voice spoke out of the foliage.

Naruto whirled around to see who was talking to him. His eyes widened in shock when he found himself looking at a cat man who was looking at him in an almost analytical way. Not that Naruto completely understood what analytical meant at his age. Most people might be frightened at the image of such a being.

"That is so cool!" Naruto cried as he laid eyes on the cat man.

Naruto wasn't one of those people. He thought seeing a cat man was one of the coolest things to ever be conceived. Well, maybe next to chocolate-flavored ramen, if someone would get off their butts and invent it already.

Running up to the cat man, Naruto admired him, "Wow, Neko-san! I didn't know there were animal people like you around!"

"Oh, we exist," Sha-Fu chuckled, being reminded of his former student Jan. "I saw you practicing martial arts."

"Oh," Naruto frowned, deflating in depression. "I'm not really that good at it yet. The stupid teachers won't let me practice that much."

"Well, you're just beginning," Sha-Fu replied. It was becoming clear where some of his negative emotion was coming from. "You just need some proper training."

"I know that," Naruto huffed. As dense as he was in some cases, he knew that you couldn't learn much without training or proper teaching. "It's just no one wants to teach me."

"I see," Sha-Fu nodded. The picture was becoming even clearer. This boy was in serious need of assistance. It was time to make his offer. "You know, I know a martial art you can learn,"

"HUH?!" Naruto gaped. He looked up at the cat man in surprise. "Really?! You do?! Does that mean you want to teach me?!"

"I wouldn't be offering otherwise," Sha-Fu smiled. "The question is; would you like to learn from me?"

"HECK YEAH!" Naruto cried brightly. "That would be so cool! I'd be the only guy in Konoha who has a cat man for a teacher! The other kids at the academy are going to be sooooo jealous! Ha ha ha ha ha!"

"Hold on a second, young one," Sha-Fu spoke calmly, miraculously gaining Naruto's attention. "I am offering to teach you, but why exactly do you want to learn?"

"Um," Naruto blinked as he thought hard. Why would he want to learn what the cat man was offering? That was simple; he wanted to be a ninja! Becoming a ninja was the first step in becoming Hokage. He wanted to become Hokage so people would recognize him, but that reason had changed as he got older. He wanted to make sure the people he recognized as family would be safe. As loud and mischievous as he was, Naruto was deathly afraid of being alone like he was in his early years.

"I want," Naruto began, showing a maturity beyond his years. "I want to protect…my precious people."

Sha-Fu smiled. That was a perfect reason to learn GekiJyuKen. With a reason like that to power his determination, there was no doubt that he was going to become great.

"A good answer," Sha-Fu nodded. "Now, to fully learn what I have to teach, you will have to leave for a while. Is that all right?"

"Umm," Naruto mumbled again. "I'll have to ask Jiji about it. He might think its okay."

"Jiji?" asked Sha-Fu. "And who might he be?"

"Oh, he's old man Hokage!" Naruto grinned. He pointed up to the Hokage monument. "The third face on the monument."

"Sarutobi?" Sha-Fu asked with some surprise. "Is he still the Hokage? What about the fourth face?"

"That's the Yondaime!" Naruto grinned. "He's the guy who defeated the Kyuubi and saved Konoha! He gave his life to save his home!"

"I see," Sha-Fu nodded. Maybe he would need to ask Sarutobi about what really happened to the Yondaime. Maybe he could even ask Sarutobi if he could take Naruto to SCRTC to be trained in JyuKen. With his eyes, he could tell Naruto had strong ki. Seeing it go to waste would be a terrible disappointment.

Looking up into the sky, Sha-Fu felt as if someone was looking down at him.

* * *

---**Hokage's Office**---

The current Hokage of Konoha wasn't oblivious as to what was going on at the moment. Looking into his crystal ball, he was more than capable of seeing that Sha-Fu was talking to Naruto.

Sarutobi was an old man with white hair and still managed to keep his goatee. He may have been old, but his knowledge of jutsu had him called 'The Professor' in his prime, jutsus he still knew today. Even in his advanced age, he was a force to be reckoned with.

Sarutobi easily recalled Sha-Fu from his younger days. It wasn't everyday someone met a cat man after all. Said cat man had been touring the Hidden Countries and ended up near Konoha. Some of the more eager ninjas had confronted him and tried to pick a fight, but ended up knocked out, their own movements working against them. Sha-Fu hadn't raised a paw on them. Since one of them was an Uchiha, the clan was disappointed to know they couldn't steal his moves, but also demanding his surrender. Sarutobi had spoken up for the cat man, stating that it was their forces who challenged him. It was a political brawl until Sha-Fu decided he had seen enough and left like a cat. Sarutobi was sure he'd never see him again. It was suitably understandable that the old man was surprised to see the cat-man looking the exact same as before.

While the council was making demands of Sha-fu showing the extent of his abilities (so some Uchiha could probably copy it) or defending his rights and letting him go, Sarutobi took some time to talk to the traveler. He had learned that Sha-Fu was a martial arts master and was looking for some students. The old Hokage had to wonder if this…GekiJyuKen training might be good for Naruto in the long run. He certainly wasn't getting any breaks from many of the villagers. Maybe some time away from the village would be good for the young Kyuubi container.

* * *

Naruto stood at the gates of Konoha where his new sensei said to be. Jiji had sent him a letter saying that he had permission to leave Konoha with Sha-Fu for his training on the condition that he return for his final exams to become a Konoha ninja. That suited Naruto just fine and he was off like a shot to get his things together. Every scroll, every cup of ramen, every picture he had of the people he cared about in his life.

"Ah, hello, Naruto. Off for another adventure I see," someone spoke. Naruto swiftly turned around and saw that none other than the Hokage himself and his homeroom teacher Iruka were standing behind him.

"I have to say this is a huge opportunity, Naruto," Iruka smiled. "I'm glad it was you this Sha-Fu fellow picked to be a pupil."

"Ah heh heh heh," Naruto grinned while happy to see two of his favorite people. "Of course? Who else would Neko-sensei pick? I'm gonna be the Hokage after all!"

Sarutobi and Iruka both smiled at Naruto's truly happy face. He usually wore a mask to hide the pain he was sometimes in, but a true smile on his face was always a sight to see. Both men knew they were going to miss the over-energetic blonde, but this would help Naruto in the long run.

"Ah, I see you have some friends to see you off," a voice broke through the crowds. "Excellent."

All three residents of Konoha turned to see who was speaking and only Iruka's jaw dropped when they viewed Sha-Fu's image. He wasn't the only one either. Citizens of Konoha were openly gawking at Sha-Fu as he appeared out of a side street and walked towards the trio.

"Greetings," Sha-Fu bowed politely. "It is good to see you again, Sarutobi."

"And you as well, Sha-Fu," Sarutobi laughed while Iruka tried to recover himself. Naruto just laughed at how funny Iruka's face looked. "As youthful as ever I see."

"Oh, sometimes the years catch up to me," Sha-Fu smiled. He then turned his attention over to Iruka. "I take it this is a friend of young Naruto's?"

"Uh….yes," Iruka dumbly nodded. "I'm Iruka Umino. I'm one of Naruto's teachers. He's somewhat of a special friend of mine outside of class so when I heard he was leaving on a trip, I just had to say goodbye."

"I see," Sha-Fu nodded. "I am glad to see Naruto has such good friends here in Konoha. There should be a warm welcoming when we finally return."

"Oh yeah!" Naruto cheered. "A ramen party! Wahoo!"

"You should first complete the training before looking forward to coming back Naruto," Sha-Fu chuckled. "By then I am sure you will have earned it."

"You bet I will!" Naruto grinned. "Believe it!"

All three of the older men laughed at Naruto's eagerness to learn. He may not have been the best of students, but if it caught his attention, then there was no stopping him. It certainly proved true in his career as a prankster. If Naruto took to Sha-Fu's style like he did his pranking skills, then Naruto was definitely going to get an education.

"Well, shall we be off then?" Sha-Fu asked.

"Yeah!" Naruto nodded rapidly. "I want to get started as soon as possible!"

"Well, we'll all miss you, Naruto," Iruka smiled as he ruffled Naruto's hair. "We'll be here when you get back. You had better concentrate on learning."

"Heh! Sure will!" Naruto smiled.

With final goodbyes and farewells, Naruto and Sha-Fu exited the gates of Konoha and headed out into the distance. Sha-Fu remained quiet until he noticed Naruto sniffling and wiping his eyes. The master of Felis-Ken guessed that this was the first time Naruto had been away from home and was sad for leaving his friends.

"There, there, Naruto-kun," Sha-Fu smiled as he patted Naruto's head. "This isn't goodbye forever. You'll see them again."

"Yeah ," Naruto sniffed. "I'll be back. Can't become Hokage without being a ninja of Konoha after all!"

"Indeed," Sha-Fu nodded. "Now, would you like to hear about the place in which you will be learning GekiJyuKen?"

"You bet!" Naruto cheered.

* * *

**Four Years Later…**

Three figures stood in front of the large gates of Konoha, watching everything around them. They had large backpacks on and all looked to be about twelve years old. One might wonder what children their age were doing by themselves, but it was the aura of intensity and experience that they gave off that made people steer clear of them.

The boy on the left had dark brown hair that reached to his shoulders. He looked Chinese in appearance. He was wearing a black jacket that had gold lines on it and gold scratch marks on the back. The scratch marks were the familiar logo of SCRTC. His pants were black, but had gold lines running down the sides. His shoes were made for traveling and training with their thick black soles and it matched the rest of his outfit with the gold coloring on it. Adorned on his hands were gauntlet-like devices that were orange and black. His name was Shen. His last name was his own business.

The girl on the right wore a green jacket like Shen wore with black markings on it. Instead of pants, she was wearing a short black skirt. Her feet were donned in black training shoes that had green trimming. She had the same pair of gloves that Shen was wearing. She was Japanese upon closer inspection. Her hair was black and done up in buns on the sides of her head. Her name was Mimi Fujitaka.

The boy in the middle was infinitely more familiar with the village of Konoha. He was donned in an orange version of the training jacket with black pants and orange trimmed training shoes. The same orange and black gloves as his friends were adorning his hands. His eyes were a bright blue with spiky orange hair. Whisker marks adorned his cheeks. This was none other than Naruto Uzumaki himself. He had returned from his studies under Sha-Fu.

"Boy does it feel good to be home!" Naruto grinned as he stretched his arms. He then turned to his teammates. "You guys are going to love it here! There's all sorts of stuff people like us can do for training!"

"That sounds good to me," Shen shrugged. "I don't want to get out of practice here. I hope the academy students are up to snuff."

"As if they could beat you, Shen-sama!" Mimi smiled brightly. "Besides, we can train together too!"

Naruto looked at his near stoic teammate and almost laughed as his faced softened. Shen was very dedicated to his training in GekiJyuKen under Jan-sensei, the heir of the Tiger-Ken. He looked up to Jan a lot and was determined to match him and prove that he was worthy of the training that Jan offered him.

Shen had come from outside the Hidden Countries, from a city called Hong Kong. He was an orphan who was living on the streets most of his life. One day he saw a bunch of kids talking to a man who was showing them martial arts. Coming closer in curiosity, the man took notice of him and they began talking. This man was actually Jan, one of Sha-Fu's disciples. He offered to teach Shen GekiJyuKen and Shen happily agreed.

Mimi was also outside of the Hidden Countries, but from a city called Tokyo. She had trained under Retsu-sensei and Ran-sensei in the basic classes. Mimi found the GekiJyuKen style incredibly interesting and desired to learn more. Her passion in it reflected in her skill. Eventually, she was accepted into the advanced training at the top of her class.

Mimi was infatuated with Shen ever since they met. She would follow him everywhere and train with him whenever they could. Sometimes she would ask for dates while doing so. For some reason, Shen could never say no to her. For that same unknown reason, he felt warm around her and enjoyed her company when they were able to hang out.

Naruto had been introduced to both of them when they began their advanced training under Sha-Fu and his three disciples. They stuck together through thick and thin despite their different attitudes. Shen was stoic, Mimi was a fangirl, and Naruto was the loud child out to prove himself to everyone. Their bond of friendship was strong and it was only natural that they travel back to the Hidden Countries when Naruto's time to return drew near. Of course, convincing Mimi's parents was difficult, but when they saw how badly their daughter wanted this, they relented.

"So what kind of stuff do you think we can do here in Konoha, Naru-chan?" Mimi asked curiously.

"Well there are all sorts of specialized training grounds to use if you have permission," Naruto explained. "There's also an awesome ramen shop! I could eat tons of the stuff! I can't wait to go there again!"

"Didn't Ran-sensei tell you not to eat so much ramen?" Shen asked suspiciously.

"Ran-nee did mention something like that," Naruto huffed. "But she's never tasted Ichiraku ramen before!"

"She had to take all your ramen away to finally break you from the habit if I remember," Mimi giggled.

Naruto snorted as he and his two friends entered through the Konoha gates with the merchants. No one really seemed to pay them any mind beyond the fact that they were dressed weird as compared to them. Still, some people were shooting dark looks at Naruto, grumbling about demons. Shen and Mimi were quick to notice and frowned at how some people were talking about their teammate.

"Some of these people don't seem very nice," Mimi huffed. "They don't seem to like you, Naru-chan."

"No," Naruto huffed. "They blame me for what that stupid fuzzball did twelve years ago."

"I can't believe people refuse to let go of the past," Shen frowned. "The Kyuubi was defeated twelve years ago. They should just accept that fact and move on instead of stewing over something they can't change."

Several people flinched at the mention of the nine-tailed fox. It appeared they still feared the beast, but their glares still meant they wanted to do something about it.

Naruto had long since learned about the demon sealed inside of him. With such a deep well of hateful aura inside of him, all seven of the Kensei had come to see him and try to discern what it was. After all seven examined his seal and the energy behind it, they researched the Hidden Countries and discerned that it was a Biju that was within him. Naruto easily recalled the story of the Kyuubi attack and everyone easily guessed which Biju was inside of him.

"Well, nothing a good prank won't solve!" Naruto smiled. "And no Miki-oba-san to stop me! Bwa ha ha ha ha ha!"

"Here we go again," Shen sighed while Mimi giggled.

While the trio was walking, Mimi's backpack began to shuffle. There was a grunting sound coming from inside before the flap popped open and a living being popped out. The being in the backpack turned out to be a small fly-like creature with four arms and two feet. It wore black pants and a white shirt. Its head was bulbous with large red eyes and a fly moth that ended in a silver ball that seemed a little like a microphone.

"Aaaaah!" the fly creature sighed happily. "So we are finally here? The Village Hidden in the Leaves?"

"We're here, Bae-chan!" Mimi giggled before she grabbed the little fly man and hugged him close. "We're just heading to the Hokage Tower!"

Bae was actually a fellow practitioner of GekiJyuKen. His specialty was the Fly-Ken, an art using his Geki along with his words to make his attacks. He was a student of the Kensei and fought in the GekiRin rebellion. He attempted to seal away one of the enemy generals but screwed up the technique and was turned into what he was now. He was trapped by the enemy for some time before he was finally freed by the collapse of the RinJyuKen Akugata.

He lived in the SCRTC building until the three children came to train. Mimi took one look at Bae and instantly squealed at how cute he was. She never missed an opportunity to cuddle him when she couldn't hang off Shen. Shen and Naruto thought he was a little odd, but eventually he became a member of the little troupe. Mimi had asked nicely if he could come along and Bae melted under her puppy eyes.

"Excellent!" Bae nodded in Mimi's arms. "It has been some time since I had been in the Hidden Countries and I hope we will be welcomed warmly."

"No problem, Bae!" Naruto smiled. "Jiji's still the Hokage so we'll be welcomed in with open arms!"

"How do you know that he is still the Hokage?" Shen asked suspiciously.

"Simple!" Naruto continued to grin. He pointed up to the Hokage monument which still only had four faces carved into its surface. "If there was a new Hokage, they would have carved their face into the mountain!"

"Is he nice?" Mimi asked curiously.

"You bet!" Naruto nodded. "Jiji was the one who gave me my apartment. We can stay there while we live in Konoha."

"I just hope it has enough room," Shen shrugged.

The three students of GekiJyuKen continued on the road to the Hokage tower. No one seemed to give them a second look unless they recognized Naruto. After that they seemed to either glare at him or watch him go in shock. Apparently a lot of people hoped he would stay gone when they learned he had left. Their journey continued until they reached the Hokage tower and entered. The Hokage's secretary was a little reluctant to let them in, but she relented since the three children seemed like foreigners.

Inside the office, Naruto, Mimi, and Shen spied Sarutobi reading over some paperwork. Hearing his door open, he looked up to see who had entered. Upon seeing the familiar face of his young friend, a smile broke out on his face.

"Well, well," Sarutobi smiled. "It has been a long time Naruto. It's good to see you again. Who are your friends?"

"Hey, Jiji!" Naruto grinned. "These are my teammates Mimi Fujitaka and Shen. They're students of GekiJyuKen like me!"

"Hello, Hokage-sama," Mimi bowed politely, Bae still in her arms. "Thank you for allowing us to come with Naruto.

"Hnn," Shen bowed politely as well.

"Well, I wasn't expecting Naruto to return with new friends," Sarutobi admitted. "But, any friend of Naruto is a friend of mine. Welcome to Konoha."

Buzzing excitedly, Bae slipped out of Mimi's arms and flew over to Sarutobi, slightly surprising the older man.

"And what an honor it is to be here, Hokage-sama!" Bae buzzed excitedly. "I am sure we of the GekiJyuKen will learn much while we train here!"

"You…are from the GekiJyuKen school as well?" Sarutobi blinked in surprise. He had assumed Bae was some kind of doll that Mimi carried around. Well, he did until he started moving.

"Yes!" Bae nodded. "I am a practitioner of the GekiJyu Fly-Ken! I am Bae!"

"A pleasure to meet you too, Bae-san," Sarutobi nodded. As Bae flew back to Mimi's arms, the elder Hokage regarded the three of them. "Well, Iruka was notified of Naruto's impending arrival so I'll send him notice about two more. You're lucky the day hasn't begun yet at the academy. If you head out now you'll be right on time."

"Gotcha, Jiji!" Naruto nodded with a thimbs up. He then turned excitedly to his teammates. "C'mon guys! The academy is pretty cool even though Iruka-sensei's speeches are boring!"

Grabbing his teammates' hands, Naruto roared out of the office like a shot. Shen and Mimi could only be dragged along helplessly. They knew by experience that once Naruto got excited by something, there was really no stopping him until he felt like stopping. Sarutobi could only watch as they left, feeling déjà vu at seeing Naruto's boundless energy back in Konoha.

"Welcome home, Naruto," Sarutobi smiled to himself. "Konoha just wasn't the same without you."

With that, Sarutobi started writing the notice Iruka would need. The man could handle kids better than any other teacher. Who better to handle three students of the GekiJyuKen school? Besides, he just hadn't been the same since Naruto left.

* * *

Iruka held the slip of paper in his hand which had been delivered straight from the Hokage's office. A warm smile came over his face when he read that Naruto had returned and was going to be at the academy. He was also a little curious as to who these other two who were supposed to be with him. They were the same age and were students in the same discipline that Naruto had taken up. The teacher had to admit, he was curious about this GekiJyuKen that his 'little brother' had taken to.

"Okay, class!" Iruka called out to his students, who were gabbing it up. Well, some of them were bickering over who was going to sit with Sasuke Uchiha…again. As expected, none of them were paying attention.

"QUIET!!" Iruka roared, utilizing his big head technique. Seeing that his students were all mollified (I.E. frightened into silence) he continued. "Now, I have a notice from the Hokage that one of our students will be returning to us along with two new students. I hope you will give them all a warm welcome."

"HEY, IRUKA-SENSEI!!"

Everyone looked to the back of the classroom where the entrance/exits were located. Standing in the doorway was a very familiar blonde with a huge grin on his face. Next to him were two foreigners dressed in either black or green. The boys immediately took note of the new cute girl while the girls in the classroom began comparing the new boy to Sasuke. One violet-eyed girl blushed brightly upon seeing the blonde, easily recognizing him.

"Is that you, Naruto?" one Kiba Inuzuka cried. "When did you get back?"

"Just today!" Naruto grinned as he and his teammates headed down to the front of the classroom. "Miss me?"

"As if, you dobe!" Kiba laughed. "Who are those two with you?"

"My name is Shen," the darkly dressed boy answered. "I came to see if I could get extra training in ninja arts."

"I am Mimi Fujitaka!" Mimi giggled, earning stupid grins from a number of males. "Wherever Shen-sama goes, I go!"

Most girls in the classroom felt relieved that they wouldn't have another rival for Sasuke's affections. One girl just felt a growing well of happiness seeing Naruto had returned while one boy was eyeing up the new students. He wanted a challenge to see if he had gotten stronger and despite Naruto being a dobe when he left, he might know something interesting now.

"Well it's nice to meet all of you," Iruka nodded. "You're lucky you got here when you did. We were about to head out to the training yard to practice Taijutsu. Maybe we can see the things you three have learned."

"All right!" Naruto grinned. "Perfect!"

"Now all will see how good Shen-sama is!" Mimi giggled.

"You two like to show off too much," Shen sighed.

Still, the whole class relocated outside the school where a simple ring was planted in the ground. Iruka explained that everyone would draw lots and fight whoever they had drawn. Shen decided this was good training while Mimi used it as a chance to show Shen-sama just how her training was paying off. Naruto just hoped he could fight Sasuke, remembering the fierce rivalry he had with the Uchiha.

"Okay, first is Shen," Iruka nodded on the clipboard he held. He figured that he might as well get the new kids first. He was curious as to what their fighting styles were like. "Come up and draw a name."

Shen silently walked to the bowl being used to hold names, seemingly ignoring Mimi's cheers. Really, he was glad for the encouragement. Reaching into the bowl, he drew a name.

"Sasuke Uchiha," he read. "Is he here?"

"Right here," the last Uchiha smirked, glad to be able to go against one of the new kids. He was eager to see how strong they were.

Both boys stepped into the circle and squared off against each other. Sasuke took the stance of the Uchiha style of Taijutsu while Shen went into a stance that no one recognized. The Uchiha fangirls squealed and cried out, anticipating Sasuke's victory. Mimi and Naruto called out to Shen, wishing him luck, and saying he could win.

"Okay," Iruka said to the two boys. "This is going to be a Taijutsu match. Your goal is to knock your opponent out of the ring. Understand?"

"Yes," both boys nodded.

"Good," Iruka nodded. "Then begin!"

Sasuke shot forward, beginning a barrage of punches which he thought would overwhelm his opponent. However, Shen calmly began blocking the barrage. He would catch them or turn them aside. The foreign boy's reflexes were very sharp. Almost cat-like…

"Kick his ass, Shen!" Naruto roared. "He doesn't stand a chance against you!"

"Go, Shen-sama!" Mimi squealed excitedly.

"Sasuke-kun's going to win!" several fangirls of Sasuke shrieked.

"Yeah right!" Naruto laughed. "Shen is the strongest physically out of the three of us. He can even break stone blocks with his bare hands."

"Shen-sama is so strong!" Mimi giggled. She hugged herself and adopted a dreamy look. "I feel it every time he holds me."

The battle between Sasuke and Shen was heating up. Sasuke was beginning to get mad. Usually his style of fighting was only rivaled by the Jyuuken of the Hyuuga Clan. Yet this...outsider was not only matching his blows, but returning them!

Shen admitted that this boy was good, but his attacks were rushed. The boy had no patience for learning techniques and it showed in his battle skills. Patience and discipline were needed to really master battle techniques. It reminded Shen of himself before Master Sha-Fu sat him down and told him a story about a former student named Rio.

Deciding to end it, Shen pressed forward. He dodged a punch from the Uchiha boy before plowing a first into the boy's gut. Sasuke stumbled from the force of the blow before Shen punched him a second time in the face, forcing him to stumble backwards. Shen pressed his advantage, unleashing combos in motions much like that of a feline. He rained down blow after blow on Sasuke, leaving the boy stunned. The Uchiha style was meant to lay down powerful strikes on the opponent, but it was meant to be used as a power style. Shen's style was proving more powerful.

'_No!_' Sasuke hissed in his mind. '_I am an Uchiha! An Avenger! I will not let myself lose to anyone!_'

Slipping, admittedly clumsily, to the side, Sasuke began flipping though several hand seals. Normally he might not have done this, but Sasuke was punch-drunk at this point and his temper was getting the better of him.

"Sasuke, no!" Iruka shouted.

"_Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!_" Sasuke called before heaving a deep breath and unleashing a large fireball out of his mouth.

"Shen!"

"Shen-sama!"

The two other students of GekiJyuKen cried out to their teammate. They knew Shen could probably survive the attack, but they didn't want to even see him hurt in the first place. Iruka was about to try and intervene before Shen started moving again.

"_Gekiwaza!_" he called. "_ShiShi Dan!_"

Rearing his fist back, a golden energy began collecting in his arm. Punching forward, the energy burst, taking the image of a large black lion with a gold mane. The beast gave off a roar before charging at the fireball and Sasuke. Amazingly, it swatted the fireball to the side before leaping at the last Uchiha and colliding with him. Sasuke was knocked back several feet and straight out of the ring before skidding to a stop. The lion faded out of existence, leaving a roar before it left.

Iruka and his students were left gaping at what they saw. They hadn't seen a kid do something like that before. A soft groan from Sasuke brought everyone to reality as they saw the Uchiha getting back up. The fangirls immediately started crying out and running to try and see if he was all right. Thankfully, Iruka beat them to it and managed to get the boy back onto his feet.

"This was supposed to be Taijutsu only!" Iruka frowned. "I expected better from the number one in the class. I hope you have a good explanation for this."

Several fangirls cried out in Sasuke's defense, declaring him to be let off because of some reason or another. Some were because he was limited or others because Shen was cheating. It seemed impossible in their minds that Sasuke could be defeated by anyone. The Uchiha himself remained silent, apparently expecting the problem to go away.

"All right, Shen!" Naruto cheered as he and Mimi ran to their friend. "You've been practicing, haven't you? The lion looked way clearer than it did before!"

"I got some extra tips from Jan-sensei," Shen nodded. "I'm glad it worked."

"I knew you could win, Shen-sama!"

The remaining students who weren't busy glaring holes at Shen for what he did to 'Sasuke-kun' were gaping at the trio.

"What the hell was that?" demanded Sasuke as he glared at Shen who looked back with a neutral expression. "That looked like Ninjutsu, but you didn't even perform hand seals! What is it? Tell me!"

"Hey, Sasuke! Shen-sama doesn't need to tell you anything!" Mimi snapped. Of course, Shen answered anyway.

"GekiJyu Lion-Ken," said Shen simply.

"What?" asked Sasuke.

"The King of Beasts, Powerful and Noble. Unyielding Power. GekiJyu Lion-Ken," explained Shen further. "That is my style."

"How did you make that lion appear?" asked Sasuke. He wanted to know.

Shen gave one answer, "Geki."

"What kind of answer is that?" Sasuke frowned. His eyes were practically demanding for an explanation for the technique.

"The only one you're getting," Shen answered coolly.

"Shen-sama's so cool!" Mimi squealed.

"Sasuke-kun's cooler!" numerous girls shrieked in response. Shen rolled his eyes and Naruto laughed.

Iruka sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. One day with the new kids and there was already trouble. Sasuke would have to face disciplinary actions, but some of the other teachers would probably play it down. Sasuke was the golden boy of Konoha after all. The people respected him because of his name, and the kids adored him because of his abilities, and the council because of his eyes. Sasuke had been favored for a lot of things ever since his family got slaughtered.

"Okay!" he called, catching his students' attention. "Sasuke is going to sit out the rest of the training since he can't seem to follow instructions. Next on the list is…Mimi Fujitaka."

"Yay!" Mimi cheered. She skipped up to Iruka and drew a name from the bowl. "Ino Yamanaka!"

"That's me!" a ponytailed blonde in purple clothes announced as she stepped forward.

"Cool! Let's have fun!" Mimi giggled. She made a quick turn to Shen and Naruto, smiling brightly. "Shen-sama! Make sure to cheer for me! You too, Naru-chan!"

As Mimi was waving, her backpack began to shake and buzz. The class looked on in confusion before the flap opened. When the thing inside came out, several students gasped and cried in shock.

"-yawn-" Bae yawned as he buzzed into the air. "I felt some fierce fighting ki, did I miss a fight?"

"Sorry, Bae-chan," Mimi giggled as she snagged Bae into a hug. "But I'm about to go fight so could you please commentate?"

"Oooooh! A chance to commentate a battle between a GekiJyuKen user and a ninja?" Bae buzzed excitedly as he buzzed into the air. "You know my passions well, Mimi-chan!"

"Course I do, silly," Mimi smiled. "You're one of my best friends!"

"What is that thing?" Ino questioned, surprised.

"That's Bae-chan," Mimi said with a frown, "And he's not a thing." Mimi took offense every time someone treated Bae anything less than he deserved. She then bowed at Ino, "Shall we begin?"

Naruto leaned over to Shen. "Hey, Shen, you think Mimi's going to show us what she's been working on?"

"Knowing her, I guess so," said Shen. For a while now, Mimi had been working on some of her own techniques but she never told either of the boys. She said it was going to be a surprise, though. "Can't wait to see what she has up her sleeve."

Mimi and Ino faced off against each other. Ino was determined to show this new girl what she was made of. She was pretty ticked about what had happened to Sasuke, but she was going to take it out of the girl's hide. What she didn't know was that Mimi was just as determined to win and show Shen just how much she had progressed.

"No jutsus, remember that," Iruka reminded the two. "With that said, begin."

Ino took a defensive stance for her taijutsu style. It was the kind the academy used since her family used more along the lines of her mental jutsus. She squared off against Mimi before she realized that the dark-haired girl was already charging at her.

"Woah!" Ino cried as she dodged a forward strike.

"Oooh! And Mimi-chan begins with her surprising speed!" Bae announced as he buzzed around the fight. "Ino-san looks like she is already on the ropes!"

"WHO ASKED YOU?!" Ino crabbed as she dodged another strike.

"Hey, don't yell at him," Mimi defended Bae. "He's just doing his job!"

"He's a pest!" snapped Ino.

Mimi could take it if somebody insulted her. She would just ignore them. But, if somebody insulted, Bae…well, they wished they never had.

"Now Ino has done it," grimaced Naruto.

"What do you mean?" asked Kiba.

"Mimi doesn't take too kindly to those that insult Bae," said Shen. "And, well, Mimi does have a really bad temper."

"We both learned that when that punk in Retsu-sensei's class said girls shouldn't learn martial arts," Naruto shivered. "It took Neko-sensei to put him right."

The collected students paled at the way Naruto and Shen both looked queasy. Turning back to the fight, they saw that Mimi was frowning deeply, looking almost murderous. The only one who seemed oblivious to this was Ino herself.

"Ah! Mimi-chan seems to be taking those words to heart!" Bae commentated as he continued to buzz about. "Mimi-chan finds all her friends precious and does not let anyone speak ill of them! It is one of the aspects which makes her such a contender in the GekiJyuKen Beast Arts!"

"No one insults Bae-chan!" Mimi shrieked angrily. Moving into a new stance, she began powering up her Geki. "_Gekiwaza: Kakusareta Kyokatabira!_"

Before everyone's eyes, Mimi vanished in a wave of air. The students gasped out in shock and even Iruka was gobsmacked. He was so surprised, he didn't even try to reprimand Mimi for using something similar to jutsus.

"INCREDIBLE!" Bae cried in sheer joy. "Mimi-chan has made use of a new technique which she must have learnt in secret! She is full of surprises!"

"Wow," Naruto gaped. "I guess she took my jibe at the chameleon thing seriously."

"Hmm," Shen nodded. "That's taking her style to a new level. Ran and Retsu-sensei will be very pleased."

"What kind of style does she use?" asked Chouji as he ate some onigiri.

"GekiJyu Chameleon-Ken," Naruto answered.

"Where are you?!" Ino cried as she brought her hands together in a hand seal. "_Kai!_"

"And Ino attempts to break Mimi-chan's technique, believing it to be an illusion technique called a Genjutsu!" Bae announced. "However it seems it has failed!"

Bae was proven correct too. Ino's attempt to break the technique failed miserably. Mimi didn't reappear. She was quickly getting nervous. She had no idea that the new kid was capable of something like that. Snapping at the fly…guy was suddenly looking like a stupid move.

"_Gekiwaza!_" Mimi's voice rang out. "_Mugen Koru Nami!_"

Ino shrieked as it looked like she was being struck from behind. The students with the sharper eyes like Sasuke or Hinata (with her Byakugan in use) could see impacts where something small was poking her repeatedly. As the assault wore down, Ino collapsed onto the ground. Mimi faded back into sight with her arms crossed underneath her chest.

"Unnnnn." Ino groaned. Her body felt like a ton of rock and she couldn't move.

"The Mugen Koru Nami allows me to strike a pattern of pressure points in the body," Mimi explained. "The more I hit them, the heavier the body feels. Even using your chakra won't help."

"Just what kind of fighting was that?" Ino hissed. "It's cheating!"

"It is not!" Mimi frowned. "Adapting to any challenge I face. Wise Instincts. GekiJyu Chameleon-Ken."

"Winner of this match, Mimi-chan!" Bae cheered.

As soon as the match ended, Mimi's frown turned into a wide smile as she hopped up and down happily. "Yes, I won!" She then ran towards Shen and Naruto, hugging Shen tight. "Did you see, Shen-sama? How were my new techniques?"

Shen's cheeks turned red and he attempted to hide them. He was still a little unused to how affectionate Mimi was. Naruto would've teased his friend but that could wait for later. Mimi let go of Shen and then smiled at Naruto.

"Wow, Mimi! That was awesome!" Naruto complimented.

"Well, we do move like the beasts, so why not use some of their talents too," Mimi nodded. "It's all thanks to your words. We have to be one with the beasts, right?"

Iruka smiled at seeing the new kids. They hadn't used any special jutsus, just something similar. This GekiJyuKen…the power…what was it really? He then turned back to the list. Now it was time for Naruto to show what he'd learnt. "Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Alright!" Naruto grinned before running to the bowl. He picked a name. "Great! I get to fight Kiba!"

"Ha! As if you'd beat me, dobe!" Kiba boasted as he and his partner Akamaru stepped forward.

The battle had to wait for a moment so Iruka could bring Ino out of the ring. Mimi assured Iruka that the technique wouldn't last too long. She'd lightened up soon enough. Once Ino was out of the way, Kiba and Naruto faced off against each other in the ring.

"And we come to the third battle of the day!" Bae commentated. "Today's combatants are the energetic and entertaining Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Go, Naru-chan!" Mimi cheered brightly.

"Don't lose, Naruto," Shen spoke with a shrug.

"And his opponent," Bae announced as he buzzed over near Kiba. Akamaru attempted to sniff at him, but failed. "The younger of two heirs of the Inuzuka Clan, Kiba Inuzuka!"

There was polite clapping for the scruffy boy. That just served to make Kiba growl annoyingly. Why wouldn't any cute girls cheer for him?

"Refereeing this match is none other than the wise instructor, Iruka Umino!" Bae finished as he buzzed up away from the action.

"Okay," Iruka smiled. He had to admit that Bae was quite the character. It seemed he was the type that someone could get along with very easily. He looked over to the grinning Naruto, easily recognizing the grin. "I don't suppose I can stop you from using those Gekiwaza can I?"

"And miss the chance to show off?" Naruto chuckled. "Fat chance!"

"Fine," Iruka shrugged. "Kiba, you have permission to use jutsus. Try not to take it too far."

"Yeah sure," Kiba grinned. "I've won this now, dobe!"

"I'm not the same kid who left four years ago," Naruto grinned. "Let me show you that!" He went into his personal GekiJyuKen stance, getting ready to face Kiba. "Get ready, Kiba, because Naruto Uzumaki is gonna kick your ass!"

"Bring it, dobe!" Kiba grinned.

"Begin!" announced Iruka.

As the match started, one of the girls said, "I don't think Uzumaki can win. Aside from Sasuke-kun, Kiba is the best when it comes to Taijutsu."

Another girl shrugged, "Maybe, but he did train with those two new kids. Wonder what he's picked up?"

Sasuke eyed the match from afar. He wanted to see what this Geki really was. He'd seen what Mimi was capable with it, now it was Naruto's turn. He had his doubts since Naruto was a complete dobe when he left. One didn't shake that sort of thing off in only a couple of years without intense training.

Kiba smirked and launched himself at Naruto with Akamaru next to him. Both had a target on Naruto's chest, hoping to hit him hard before he pulled some kind of technique.

"_Gekiwaza!_" Naruto grinned. "_Tsui Tsui Zen!_"

To Kiba's shock, Naruto sank into the dirt. It was a technique similar to a kind of Doton jutsus, but it was so smooth and swift, Kiba didn't have time to react.

"What the-?!" Kiba cried. He began sniffing the ground. One of the drawbacks that this kind of technique had was that the scent followed the user. A human scent underground stuck out like a sore thumb.

"Arf!" Akamaru barked loudly.

"Whaddya mean you can't smell him?!" Kiba cried. "He's gotta have a scent somewhere!"

Try as he might, Kiba and Akamaru weren't picking up Naruto's scent. It was where he went down, but it vanished after that. It was starting to freak the young Inuzuka out.

"Yo, Kiba!" Naruto's voice rang out.

Turning to the source of the sound, Kiba's eyes widened when he saw Naruto's head sticking out of the ground. Almost as if he was rising out a lake, Naruto came to stand on the ground again.

"Tsui Tsui Zen is a lot like some Doton jutsus, I'll admit," Naruto shrugged. "What's different is that this cuts off all traces of my presence. Sort of like when an animal makes a new burrow. The only way you know they are there is if you see them go in."

"Ha!" Kiba grinned as he charged for another flurry of taijutsu moves. "I'm gonna blow you away!"

"Not today!" Naruto grinned as he held up a bunch of leaves he had plucked from the ground. He pressed them to his forehead as a golden energy began to light them up. "_Gekiwaza: Kitsune Bunshin!_"

Gripping the leaves, Naruto tossed them in all directions. Kiba knew that something was going to happen, but he wasn't going to give up the chance of taking Naruto down. He didn't even notice that the leaves had erupted in smoke as he brought back his fist.

"YAAHHHHH!"

And that was before Kiba found himself mobbed by several copies of Naruto. The sudden dog pile caught him off guard and left him and Akamaru under several Naruto clones. Everyone just stared at the fight in shock, wondering how Naruto did what he did.

"Is that a Kage Bunshin or something?" Shikamaru asked with some very, very slight curiosity.

"Naru-chan can create clones out of things he puts his Geki into," Mimi smiled as she explained the technique. "They last as long as the Geki is in them. They can survive attacks, but that drains the Geki faster."

"It's one of his specialties," Shen nodded. "It's one of the reasons why I like training with him. I can fight multiple people at once."

Back at the fight, Kiba was being held down by several clones while Akamaru was being held up by another one. Naruto stood in front of the pair with a smug grin on his face. He recalled how he would get his butt kicked in Taijutsu training by numerous students. Being on the opposite side of the beat down was fun for the energetic blonde.

"Ready to call it quits, Kiba?" Naruto grinned. "One chance only!"

"Hell no!" Kiba growled as he and Akamaru attempted to break free. "I'll still kick your ass!"

"Then I'd better finish this," Naruto shrugged. "Be thankful, Kiba, Elephant-sensei was the one who helped me perfect this technique!"

Over at the audience, the students were beginning to get curious again. Feeling bold, Shino Aburame stepped forward to ask what was on everyone's mind.

"Who is Elephant-sensei?" he asked stoically.

"He means Elehung Gambou-sensei," Shen answered. "He's one of the seven masters of the GekiJyuKen. The Elephant-Ken. I didn't know that Naruto was seeing him for extra help."

"I wonder what technique he needed help with," Mimi frowned in thought. "The only technique he really needed was…," a look of irritated realization came over her face. "Oh no! NARU-CHAN! DON'T YOU DARE USE THAT TECHNIQUE! RAN-SENSEI, MIKI, AND MICHELLE-SENSEI WILL HAVE YOUR HIDE!"

"_Gekiwaza!_" Naruto grinned. "_Kitsune Henge!_"

Naruto seemed to explode in smoke. The audience was wondering what kind of technique some of Naruto's teachers didn't want him to use. In their minds, it must mean that it was some kind of violent attack. They just wondered how brutal this technique was going to be.

"Kibaaaa-kuuuuuuuun!" a sultry feminine voice whined seductively as the smoke began to clear.

Before everyone's eyes, a voluptuous woman with the best curves in all the right places appeared in Naruto's place. She was also completely nude with smoke hiding the barest minimum. Her hair was long and blonde with small whisker marks on her cheeks with sapphire blue eyes. She smiled seductively before blowing a kiss at Kiba.

"GUH!" Kiba groaned as he erupted in a massive nosebleed. He collapsed immediately to the ground while the Naruto clones vanished into leaves again.

Kiba wasn't alone in that act either. Numerous male students dropped to the ground with nosebleeds of their own. The only ones who were unaffected were Chouji who was too busy eating, Shikamaru who had gone to sleep, Sasuke who averted his eyes, and Shen who did the same. Iruka wasn't immune as he flew back from the force of the nosebleed that hit him. Bae had just passed out from the stimulus since he didn't have a nose anymore.

"Guh," Bae groaned as he struggled to stay conscious. "The winner is…Naruto-kun. Ugh."

In an explosion of smoke, the girl once again became Naruto. He cheered as he jumped up and down in happiness, "Woohoo! I won! Yeah!"

"Naruto," Shen began as he turned back around. "You might want to run, now."

"Eh?" questioned Naruto but then he could pick up a mass amount of killing intent, female killing intent. He looked to see all the girls glaring at him, including Mimi. "Oh, crap."

"GET THAT PERVERT!!!" the girls all screamed before giving chase after the blonde. Naruto didn't even have time to activate his Tsui Tsui Zen Gekiwaza so he opted to just run and hope for the best, screaming at the top of his lungs as all his female classmates, with the exception of Hinata, went after him with murder in their eyes.

Shen sighed as he picked up Bae and watched his friend getting chased by the girls. "Naruto, sometimes I wonder if you do these things to yourself on purpose and why I even put up with you."

* * *

ZK Chromedragozoid: While Ten-Faced Paladin did help to write this fic, and most of the plot, it was my idea. I thought it would be fun.


	2. Lesson 2: School Days

Chapter 2: School Days

Naruto was bruised all over and flanking him were his friends. Shen gave his blonde GekiJyu Fox-Ken using teammate a sympathetic look while Mimi was still scowling.

"I don't think I deserved THAT much of a beating," muttered Naruto.

"Naruto, I advise you to never use that technique ever again, if you value your life," Shen said.

"I just can't believe you would use that to win! It's so underhanded!" Mimi snapped.

"Hey, 'Unlimited Cunning' here, remember? I'm a GekiJyu Fox-Ken user. The technique uses a lot of tricks and I was just using what I learned."

"Well, that would give GekiJyuKen a bad name," said Shen. "So, where are we off to?"

"Ichiraku Ramen!" grinned Naruto. "Come on!"

Grabbing his two teammate's hands, Naruto began dragging them away and towards his favorite ramen joint.

* * *

"Ooohh boy does that taste good!" Naruto grinned as he slurped his ramen happily. "Now I know I'm home!"

"It's good to see you back, Naruto-kun," Ayame smiled. She was the daughter of the owner of the ramen stand Naruto had such fond memories of. "We almost went under without our favorite customer coming to eat here!"

"Well, I'm back now so you don't have to worry ever again!" Naruto grinned. "I even brought friends!"

Naruto of course was talking about Shen, Mimi, and Bae. Shen and Mimi were both eating the ramen, finding themselves getting addicted after one bowl. They were beginning to understand why Naruto had become such a ramen addict when Sha-Fu brought him to the SCRTC building. Breaking the habit was absolute murder. Bae himself was eating out of a small sake cup that was perfect for someone his size. It served as a bowl for him. Teuchi, Ayame's father and the head cook of the small stand, had cut up some ramen noodles extra small for the fly man.

"Ahh, nothing like a good meal!" Bae sighed happily as he slurped up a few of his mini-noodles. "Your cooking is indeed special, Ichiraku-san!"

"Heh, just call me Teuchi, Bae-kun," Teuchi laughed. "Any friend of Naruto's is a friend of ours!"

Both chef and waitress were surprised to see the GekiJyu Fly-Ken user, but they accepted him as a friend and customer very quickly. Naruto was a special one to them and they didn't want to see him hurt. Once they determined that they were indeed true friends of the blonde, the father-daughter pair welcomed them warmly despite appearances.

"No wonder Naru-chan is such an addict!" Mimi giggled. "This stuff is so good!"

"I was raised on it," Naruto laughed. "Some of the best times in my life."

"Naruto-kun practically lived here," Ayame giggled. "So, how did you all meet Naruto-kun anyway?"

"Well," Mimi smiled. "My teachers Ran-sensei and Retsu-sensei had been taught under Master Sha-Fu, who taught Naruto. Once they decided I was ready for advanced training, I was brought up to meet the Kensei and those who would be my teammates."

"My teacher Jan-sensei also learned under Master Sha-Fu," Shen nodded. "I wasn't sure what to make of Naruto at first, but I guess he grew on me."

"Well, it's good to know Naruto has such good friends," Teuchi grinned. "You know, I never heard about this GekiJyuKen stuff. You say it's a beast fist?"

"Hai!" Bae nodded as he buzzed up to see Teuchi's face. "The GekiJyuKen was invented by Brusa Ee-sama, who created the first Beast Fist, the Rhinoceros-Ken. By emulating the movements of beasts with inner peace, one is capable of harnessing their personal energies and achieving the power of the beast within!"

"So your fighting style uses the advantages of animals in battles?" asked Ayame. "That sounds sort of like the Inuzuka Clan."

"True," Shen nodded. "However, from what I've heard, they only use the power of dogs. GekiJyuken can emulate any animal."

"Wow," Ayame smiled brightly. "So what animals can you three fight like?"

"The King of Beasts, Powerful and Noble. Unyielding Power," Shen smiled. "GekiJyu Lion-Ken."

"Adapting to any challenge I face. Wise Instincts," Mimi continued. "GekiJyu Chameleon-Ken."

"The trickster with a hundred ways of winning. Unlimited Cunning," Naruto grinned. "GekiJyu Fox-Ken."

"I'd really like to see that," said Ayame with some curiosity in her eyes.

"You might get your chance," said Shen as he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. "Naruto, your welcoming committee is here."

Shen actually meant that cynically but it was hard to tell sometimes. Naruto looked up to see a group of villagers, 15 in total, armed with gardening tools and not looking happy. They looked incredibly angry and hateful. A few years ago, Naruto had been confused because he didn't know why they hated him but he'd discovered why and come to terms with it. Now, he would've run and hide from the villagers but he wasn't that same little boy they could scare.

"Get out of our village you little demon!" the man in the lead, a portly person in denim overalls, a brown shirt and black boots with a shovel, yelled. "And take your demon-loving friends with you! We don't want you here!"

"Damn villagers," muttered Naruto. He pushed himself off his seat. "Well, looks like it's time to teach them a lesson." He grinned while cracking his knuckles. That grin made some of the mob a little uncomfortable.

"Naru-chan, need some help?" asked Mimi.

"Nah, I can handle it," Naruto flashed her his confident smile.

"He's right, Mimi," agreed Shen as he sipped on some of his ramen soup. "These villagers don't stand a chance."

Naruto strode towards the villagers who'd hated him for something that was never his fault. They'd abused him, frightened him, and generally made his life a living hell the first 8 years of his life. Now, it was time for payback.

"Yo, Fatso!" shouted Naruto. "What did you call me?"

"Huh?" the man leading the mob responded.

"Are you dumb as well as fat? What did you call me? A demon, right?"

"That's right! We know what you are!"

Naruto laughed which just unnerved the mob further. They had never expected him to laugh or even walk up to them for that matter. They just expected him to run or something.

"Well, do you think it's smart to draw attention from a demon? I mean, that doesn't sound exactly like a good idea, right? I mean, if I'm a demon, I'd be really pissed off and I don't think you'd want that."

"Uh…" The man apparently hadn't thought of that and the rest of the mob was looking for any routes of escape. They had just dug their own graves. They weren't ninjas. They were just civilians.

"You…you can't hurt us!" shouted a woman. "We're citizens of Konoha. It's against the law!"

"So, why would a demon care about human laws?" Naruto pressed on, stalking closer. "Especially the laws that allow the same humans to hurt an innocent kid?" Now the mob was starting to turn pale and sweat bullets. Naruto started to generate Geki and then called out, "GekiJyu Fox-Ken! Gekiwaza!"

Mimi recognized the stance. "He wouldn't, would he?"

"Rai Rai Jyu!"

"He would," Shen said flatly.

The Geki around Naruto exploded and then formed into a gigantic fox. The mob screamed and fled, running away with their tails between their legs. The giant fox faded away as Naruto fell on his back, laughing. "HAHAHAHAH!!! Look at them run!" He was laughing so hard that tears were falling from his eyes. Shen shook his head and Mimi sighed. Only Naruto would attempt a Gekiwaza that they hadn't completely mastered yet as a prank.

* * *

Back in the Uchiha compound, Sasuke was punching a tree repeatedly. Today hadn't gone so well. He was an Uchiha and he had been defeated by a complete nobody. He tried to get answers and the only one he got was 'Geki'. What was it? What did it mean? What kind of power could create a perfect projection of a lion like that which could deflect his own jutsu? How?

He'd seen what Mimi and Naruto could do and they'd surprised him, especially Naruto. The dobe had gotten way better. He'd managed to even defeat Kiba who was only second to him. That girl, Mimi, had even managed to defeat Ino and using a technique that only a true ninja could utilize. She'd turned herself completely invisible. It had not been an illusion. She'd even masked her chakra signature.

"Geki…" Sasuke muttered. "What is your secret?"

* * *

"And here we are, home sweet home," said Naruto proudly. "I'm surprised it's still mine or even standing. I mean with the villagers and all…"

"Well, maybe with you gone they had no reason to mess it up anymore," shrugged Mimi. "You still got a key?"

"Hold on," said Shen. "When you left, did you at least clean up the place?"

"Well…" Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Neko-sensei just took me all of a sudden and well there wasn't any time."

"And that was 4 years ago," grimaced Shen. Who knows what kind of things had festered in that apartment if Naruto's cleaning skills, or lack of cleaning skills, were any indication. "I'm not going inside."

"Say what?" Naruto blinked. "Why not?"

"Do you have to ask? I came to your room at SCRTC one time to wake you up and I had to wade through garbage just to find you." Shen considered that one of the worst days of his life. Naruto's room had stunk horribly. He had little regard for personal hygiene and plus Shen could've sworn he'd seen something move among the pile of dirty laundry. "I'm not keen on going through it again."

Naruto shrugged, "Suit yourself. Mimi-chan?"

"Um…" Mimi hesitated. "I'm with Shen-sama on this one. You are a bit messy, Naru-chan."

Naruto snorted and turned to his door. He dug out the key and opened the door. Mimi and Shen braced themselves for whatever horrors lay behind the door but then they realized that there was no horrid odor escaping through the open door. "You coming in or not?" asked Naruto. Curious, the Chameleon-Ken and Lion-Ken users walked in after the Fox-Ken user.

"Wow," Mimi blinked.

"It's actually…clean," Shen said, amazed.

"Hey, there's a note," said Mimi as she turned to the door that had a note stuck to it. She took it and opened it up. "Oh, it's for you, Naru-chan, from Iruka-sensei. It says here he cleaned up your place and took care of it while you were away."

Naruto blinked in shock before he broke out into a grin, "Man, where would I be without Iruka-sensei?"

"In the middle of a garbage dump for one," Shen commented as he went for the kitchen. "Is there anything to eat here?"

"Probably just ramen," Naruto answered. "It was the only stuff anyone would let me buy. All other kinds of food were way too expensive for me."

"I'm sure," Mimi huffed, knowing how the people treated Naruto. "Well, it's good we already ate. Now all we have to worry about is breakfast."

Shen reached to the cupboards and opened to see what was there. As expected, there were ramen cups in there, but they looked dusty, indicating their age. Strangely, there were cans of food which were much newer and were able to stay good for a long time. Apparently Iruka had been stocking food for his student as well as cleaning for him.

"So where is everyone sleeping?" asked Mimi. "I mean, Naru-chan only has one bed, right?"

"Well, one of you guys can use the bed I suppose," Naruto shrugged. "I can sleep on the couch or the floor. It's fine with me."

"I can cuddle with Shen-sama!" Mimi offered. "Then Naru-chan can take the couch!"

"NO!" Shen cried, losing his composure. "We don't have to do that!"

"Oh come on, Shen!" Naruto chuckled. "It can be like our trip to Shark-sensei's island!"

Shen shuddered at that memory. Deciding to get some survival training, Sha-Fu took the three GekiJyuKen students to Sharkie Chan's island. Elehung and Bat Li had gone with them for extra training and it would be a three-day trip. Of course, Mimi had seen it as a chance to get closer to Shen. During the night, she'd slipped into Shen's tent to cuddle with him. When Elehung came around to wake Shen up, he discovered the scene. As such, he took a picture to commemorate the event and congratulate Shen for deepening his relationship with Mimi. Sharkie and Naruto thought it was hilarious while Bat Li was conflicted between congratulating Mimi on her stealth skill or admonishing Shen for letting his senses be dulled. Sha-Fu just found it amusing and a chance for extra sensory training.

Shen would never admit it but when he realized that Mimi was cuddled up to him, he didn't seem to mind. He actually liked it. She was just so cute that he couldn't bring himself to yell at her for it. Still, the teasing he could do without.

"I can take the floor, Mimi can take the bed and Naruto can take the couch," Shen suggested. Of course, he knew that Mimi would just sneak into his sleeping bag to cuddle with him. She was just so quiet and barely noticeable when she hid her presence. That meant Shen needed to keep his senses sharp at all times. He didn't want to end up being molested by the girl in his sleep, no matter how much he liked her.

There was a knock at the door which Mimi answered and saw a ninja wearing a bird mask. "Naru-chan, I think this is for you."

"Oh, just an ANBU," Naruto frowned. "Whaddya want, birdface?"

"The Hokage requests a meeting with you due to several complaints from the villagers," the ANBU explained. "You are to come alone."

"Sorry, but where Naru-chan goes, we go," said Mimi firmly.

"We won't let you take him alone," Shen added, crossing his arms.

The ANBU, having heard of what these three could do, decided to just bend the rules a bit. "Fine, but you are to wait outside the Hokage's office, is that understood?"

"Sure," She nodded.

"You bet!" Mimi nodded.

"Good," Bird Mask nodded. "Follow me."

Keeping up with the ANBU was easy enough since they were used to roof hopping and moving quickly. Quickly entering the Hokage Tower, they were brought straight to the Hokage's office.

"Wait here you two," Bird Mask spoke as he and Naruto entered the office.

Inside, Naruto recognized the Hokage, who looked a little concerned, but calm. To the left, there was the guy Naruto recalled who was at the head of the mob that had come up against him. Holding in a sigh of agitation, Naruto stepped forward.

"I brought him, Hokage-sama," Bird Mask announced as the doors closed behind them.

"Ah, thank-you, Bird," Sarutobi nodded. "You are dismissed."

Nodding, the Bird Mask vanished in a plume of smoke.

"Now, Naruto-kun," Sarutobi spoke. "Saitou-san here states that there was a disturbance. He claims that you were the cause of it. Something about using…"

"The Kyuubi's chakra?" Naruto finished. Sarutobi and the man, Saitou, flinched. "Relax, I know about it. So do all my teachers and teammates. We figured it out not long after Neko-sensei brought me to where I was going to be trained."

"So you can use your old power," Saitou snorted. "Proves that you're dangerous."

"Oh please," Naruto snorted. "I don't need to use the Kyuubi's chakra. My Geki is strong enough. Besides, if I was using the Kyuubi's power, you wouldn't be standing here, would you?" Naruto gave Saitou a foxy grin. "Heck, if I was really a little monster, you'd be dead, right?"

"Uh...I...um," Saitou gulped.

"Look," Naruto sighed, turning serious. "I figure you have your own reasons for hating the Kyuubi and it must really piss you off that you can't give it what it deserves. But you have to let go. Yondaime-sama chose me to make sure that the Kyuubi can never try to destroy Konoha again and do what it did to piss you off so badly a second time. My job isn't getting any easier with people like you trying to take out your anger on my hide. You wanna get back at the Kyuubi? Then live. Do what it tried to keep you from doing. Rub it in its face just how badly it failed."

Sarutobi was astounded at how mature Naruto was being. He truly had grown in his time outside of Konoha. It seemed to have done the boy a world of good. Sha-Fu and his teachings were probably just what Naruto needed in his life. Friends, role models, people he could be himself with, all these things and more had been provided during his stay away from Konoha.

"Wait a sec," Saitou frowned. Despite his resolve wavering, he seemed determined to continue. "Then just what was that thing with the giant fox then?"

"Well, its part of a technique I'm trying to master," Naruto admitted with a shrug. "It's called the Rai Rai Jyu. The Come-Come Beast technique."

"What does that do?" asked Sarutobi.

"Well, it's kind of like summoning," Naruto explained. "What it does is create a solid manifestation of my Fierce Ki. My Geki. Depending on what kind of JyuKen I use, it becomes a different GekiBeast. In my case it's a fox. I haven't mastered it yet so it only appears for a minute or so before it vanishes again."

"I see," Sarutobi nodded. "And how many tails does it have."

"Just one," Naruto answered. "Just like every other normal fox."

"All right then," Sarutobi nodded. "Well Saitou-san, it seems the Kyuubi is still properly sealed and very much incapable of hurting anyone. Naruto just used this technique to scare you and the others."

"Did a good job of it," Saitou sighed. "All right. I'll leave it alone."

"So, can I leave?" asked Naruto.

"Yes you may, Naruto, and please no more stunts like that," Sarutobi said.

"Not making any promises, Old Man," Naruto grinned mischievously. It always made the Hokage nervous whenever Naruto smiled like that. "Well, see you later! Tsui Tsui Zen!" He then walked right through the door without even opening it.

"So, what happened?" Shen asked as Naruto exited the office.

"Oh, just to explain myself about my use of Rai Rai Jyu," Naruto replied. "No big deal."

"Well, I was worried," said Mimi with Bae in her arms. "We haven't fully mastered it yet. We could get in trouble."

"Hey, I'm fine," Naruto waved it off. "So, what do you guys wanna do right now?"

"We could do some more training," said Shen. "We didn't get much of a chance when we came here, except for what happened at the Academy."

"Oh, I know a way we can train…" Naruto grinned.

* * *

The next morning, Sarutobi looked out his window to see the Hokage Monument vandalized with all the faces painted over. He sighed, knowing fully well who the culprit was. "Naruto, it's never going to be dull again with you back."

* * *

While no one was able to actually prove that Naruto was the one who had pulled off the crime, everyone knew it had to be him. What they didn't know was that he had some help in doing so. If he had done it himself, he might have been caught and punished for his actions. Since he was assisted for this prank, he managed to escape before he was caught.

"I can't believe we helped you do that," Shen sighed as he leaned in his seat between Mimi and Naruto in the classroom. "I must be losing my mind."

"Ah, come on, Shen!" Naruto chuckled. "You had fun. Admit it!"

"I had fun too, Shen-sama!" Mimi giggled. "Besides, we got to spend time together!"

"I would have preferred to have been training," Shen sighed.

"But we were training!" Naruto retorted. "Our stealth abilities in not getting caught, our strength in keeping ourselves on the mountain, and our speed in escaping anyone who was chasing us. Like Neko-sensei said, in everything there is training."

Naruto finished the quote by looking like he was hitting a triangle much like his teacher would after he said something like that. Mimi giggled pleasantly while Shen rolled his eyes.

"Ah, you have indeed taken Sha-Fu-sensei's words to heart, Naruto-kun!" Bae buzzed happily. "You are indeed a grand student of the GekiJyuKen. I cannot wait to see what kind of adventures await us! Oooh, just the thought of commentating it makes me happy!"

Shen saw the other students coming into the classroom. Most of the girls were glaring at Shen for what he'd done to Sasuke the previous day. Sasuke was also glaring daggers at the three, particularly at Shen for having defeated him. Shen just ignored him. Kiba was still a little miffed at what Naruto had done to him but had laughed his head off after seeing the monument. Hinata just blushed when she saw Naruto, happy to see her crush back after a four year long absence. Still, she saw how close he was to Mimi and was slightly envious.

Mimi, being the observant one, caught the way Hinata was looking at Naruto and made the logical conclusion. '_So, that girl has a crush on Naru-chan_.' Mimi looked towards her male friend who was discussing with Shen about other future forms of 'training', while Shen tried to shoot each of them down. '_And Naru-chan, as always, is oblivious to everything that isn't training or ramen. Hm…maybe I can kill two birds with one stone. I can get Naru-chan to notice this girl and help this girl become happy. Heh heh! Mimi, you're a smart one_.' She was grinning widely as the plan formed in her head. She then felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see that it was Shino Aburame. This also caught Naruto by surprise and Shen's eyebrow twitched.

"Um…who are you?" Mimi asked.

Shino introduced himself, "My name is Shino Aburame, Mimi-san." He bowed and Mimi stood up to bow right back.

"Shino-san," she replied, curious at his intentions. "What do you want?"

"I wish to ask you about GekiJyuKen. Are there insect based techniques within it?" he sounded rather interested and curious. Bae was also interested when the boy asked and decided to answer instead.

"Of course. The GekiJyuKen Beast Arts covers all the animals in the world, insects included. Why, I am a Master of the GekiJyu Fly-Ken!"

"And here he goes again," Naruto muttered. Bae would brag a bit about being a 'Master', while in truth he was the only living user of the Fly-Fist. It was impressive but due to his current appearance, it didn't seem all that powerful. Of course, seeing Shino come talk to Mimi was a surprise.

"Hey, Naruto!" Kiba called as he stepped up to talk to the blond.

"Hey, if this is about what happened yesterday…" Naruto began.

"Oh, it's nothing like that," Kiba grinned. "Just wanted to say that what you did was cool. I mean, masking your scent? Didn't think it was possible."

Naruto was a bit relieved when he heard this. So Kiba wasn't completely upset.

"But…next time we fight, I want it to be a real fight. So don't use that Henge on me again, OK?" Kiba requested.

"Hey, it's part of the package," Naruto snorted.

"Even if it is considered forbidden due to being insulting to women," Shen quipped.

"Shen!"

Ino was glaring at Mimi. The girl had earned some attention for being cute, foreign, and being quite powerful as well. Heck, that Shen guy was cool too but not like Sasuke. However, though Shen was a lot like Sasuke in terms of personality, he seemed more open to others, especially his friends. The three of them were already like a Genin team even before graduating. She wondered if they would become ninjas at all. Naruto had missed the last four years of school and the two with him were newbies. There was a lot for them to cover and she doubted that they could catch up. Taijutsu was one thing, but there was a lot more to being a ninja than just hand to hand. Though, they could fight with those weird jutsus they called "Gekiwaza". Shen had made a lion appear, Mimi had turned invisible and Naruto had phased into the ground. Also, what was this 'Geki' they kept talking about?

Iruka walked into the classroom and eyed what was happening. The fangirls were either fighting over who was sitting next to Sasuke again and glaring at Shen. It wasn't too hard to figure out why. Shino was actually talking almost animatedly with Bae about something. It was a step up from the way he would talk with insects, sort of. Naruto was in conversation with Kiba, obviously holding no hard feelings for the match yesterday. Mimi was talking to Shen, but was stealing glances at Hinata, who was unsurprisingly glancing at Naruto.

"Okay, everyone!" Iruka called, managing to get his students' attention on the first try. "Today we're going to go over our Henge skills. Everyone line up."

Some minor groans met his announcement unsurprisingly. No one really liked doing Henge drills since most of the class knew how to do it easily. Iruka knew from experience that they only paid attention to something new. Once the students learned it, they didn't want to do it anymore.

Lining up, the students readied themselves for the test. The first one was Sakura Haruno, who managed to Henge into Iruka perfectly. She attempted to earn praises from Sasuke, but was promptly ignored. The Uchiha went next, proving why he was the best in the class when he did a perfect Henge as well. This earned cheers from his fangirls.

"Not bad, Sasuke," Iruka nodded. "Okay, Naruto, you're next."

"Okay!" the orange clad boy grinned as he stepped forward.

"And no nude women this time!" Iruka warned.

"It was just the one time!" Naruto huffed as he got into position. "Okay! _Gekiwaza: Kitsune Henge!_"

A small explosion of smoke erupted from the blonde as he unleashed the technique. As it cleared up, the mirror image of Iruka stared back at the teacher. Both grinned before one exploded in smoke, returning to Naruto. The Real Iruka continued to smile as he marked his paper.

"Good job, Naruto," Iruka comlimented. "I'm glad to see all your training helped more than just Taijutsu."

"Heh. Neko-sensei liked to train me in almost everything," Naruto grinned. "Thanks Iruka-sensei!"

"Okay," Iruka nodded. "Mimi? You're next."

"Yatta!" Mimi smiled as she stepped forward. "Um…I can do something similar to a Henge. Is that okay?"

"All I'm looking for is you using a technique which allows you to look like someone else," Iruka explained. "I only call it a Henge since that's what Konoha ninjas have used since our village was founded."

"Okay!" Mimi smiled. Stepped up to Iruka, she placed her hand on his chest before powering up her Geki. "_Gekiwaza: Kamereon Kamen!_"

Rather than a puff of smoke, Mimi's body began to glow a bright green before it began to change. She gained height and her hair changed before the light died down. In her place, a smiling Iruka stared back at the teacher.

"What do you think?" the faux-Iruka grinned.

"Very good, Mimi," Iruka smiled. "That's very impressive."

"Yatta!" Mimi cheered as she returned to her natural form. "Shen-sama! Did you see me? I did it perfectly!"

"That's good," Shen nodded. "You've been having some trouble with that one. I'm glad you managed to perfect it."

"You rock, Mimi-chan!" Naruto cheered.

"Horray for, Mimi-chan!" Bae buzzed cheerfully.

Mimi giggled with a happy flush on her cheeks as she headed to where the other students who'd finished their test sat.

"Okay, Shen," Iruka spoke up. "Your turn."

"Right," Shen nodded as he moved forward. Despite not being used to using any sort of illusions in battle, he'd learnt about how lions blended into their surroundings which aided in his stealth training. Power simply wasn't enough, even for the king of beasts.

"Here we go," Shen sighed as he reached to his Geki. "_Gekiwaza: Shi Shi Oi!"_

The energy rippled around Shen's body before his body flickered like a mirage. It flickered for a moment before the image of Iruka appeared over him. Iruka peered closely at the illusion, scrutinizing it since it looked a little shaky to begin with. Finding nothing wrong, Iruka marked him down, permitting Shen to dispel his illusion.

"Very good, Shen," Iruka nodded. "I'm a little surprised. I know chameleons and foxes might know the Henge, but a lion?"

"Lions are more than just raw power," Shen explained. "They are also predators. Stealth is a part of their life, even if most people don't know that."

"Well, very good job all the same," Iruka acknowledged as he dismissed Shen. "All right. Ino, you're up."

The day progressed from there. After the Henge tests, Iruka continued into his standard lectures about the ninjas. Everyone was taking notes, even Naruto himself, who was considered to be the dead last in the class before he left. When lunch finally came around, everyone was outside in the blink of an eye.

The three GekiJyuKen students were popular around the grounds. Everyone had questions about the things they learned and who they had learned them from. Naruto was eager to brag about the seven Kensei and how awesome they all were. Shen would describe his teachings from Jan proudly and with open admiration. Mimi loved to describe how things worked around Retsu and Ran. All of them had their own stories to share about Gou and Ken, the elusive members of their little family who would appear at odd times. Bae himself got some popularity from Shino, who was still expressing interest in the JyuKen, especially the insect variations.

"So I cannot choose what Beast Fist I possess," Shino pondered. "What determines my Beast Fist is my inner self."

"Correct, Shino-kun," Bae explained. "The style is completely unique to the user. Even if someone possesses the same Beast Fist, it is still unique to them alone."

"Interesting," Shino nodded. "Would you or one of the others be able to teach GekiJyuKen?"

"Well, I do know of a few who can," Bae acknowledged. "I am in no shape to do it, but why do you wish to learn GekiJyuKen?"

"My clan is one which holds a symbiotic relationship to the Kikkai beetles which are native to Fire Country," Shino explained. "We seek balance with our insects as well as within ourselves. I believe GekiJyuKen can help me achieve higher balance."

"A good reason," Bae nodded. "But what would you do with GekiJyuKen if you were able to learn it?"

"I would use it to aid my village and ensure the safety of family and friend alike," Shino answered. "A loyal ninja and a good person cannot do anything less."

"Good," Bae nodded. "Naruto-kun, Mimi-chan, and Shen-kun are in contact with several masters of GekiJyuKen. If you truly wish to learn it for the sake of protecting people then you can ask them to help you meet them."

"Thank you," Shino nodded.

Over with the three GekiJyuKen users, Mimi broke off from the group to stretch her legs. She also wanted to make a beginning for her plan. All she had to do was find that lavender-eyed girl who was looking so longingly at her teammate. Looking around, she quickly spotted the girl hiding behind one of the trees, unsurprisingly, watching Naruto. Smiling mischievously, Mimi trotted over to behind the girl.

"What are you looking at?" she giggled.

"EEP!" the girl cried out before she turned around in a flurry. Her face had turned a bright red. "Uh! Um! I…I…Ah!"

"Hay, calm down," Mimi giggled. "I'm not going to make fun of you or anything. Calm down." She smiled, "So, you got a crush on Naru-chan, eh?"

"N-N-No!" Hinata tried to deny, "It isn't like that!"

Mimi used her index and pinky to point at her own eyes. "Chameleons have a 360 degree field of vision, so that makes them very observant. I've seen the way you look at Naru-chan. You like him, right?"

"E-even if I do," Hinata frowned. "I-I don't think he even notices and well…m-my family would not allow it."

Mimi was saddened by this. Naruto had explained to her about the Hyuugas, as limited his knowledge was. They were considered the elite like the Uchiha but this girl didn't feel so high and mighty. She felt lonely instead. Maybe she needed a friend.

"Well, Naru-chan can be pretty dense and clueless," Mimi recalled. "It took him awhile to figure out some stuff at the start but when he got the answer he started to apply himself better. The way to get his attention is to be direct." Mimi clenched her fist and threw it into the air. "Let me help!"

"B-but why, Mimi-san?" Hinata asked.

"Just call me Mimi, or Mimi-chan," said Mimi. "We're friends, right?"

Hinata nodded, smiling.

"OK, girlfriend, it's time to help you to get the boy you want!" Mimi cheered.

Back with Shen and Naruto, the blond was talking as his teammate quietly listened. At first Shen had been annoyed by his loud teammate but they'd learnt to get along well after a bonding exercise. Shen considered Naruto his best friend and the container of the Kyuubi thought the same of him. Still, it couldn't hurt for Naruto to just shut up for 5 minutes, could it?

"Emo jackass at 12 o'clock," Naruto warned. Shen cracked one eye open to see Sasuke approaching them. "Must want to get even after yesterday."

"Well, it'll be good exercise," said Shen. He spoke to Sasuke, "OK, Uchiha, what do you want?"

"I wish to fight you," Sasuke challenged. "I wish to find out the secret of your Geki."

Naruto wanted to protest but Shen calmed him down with a single glance. "Alright, but first you must beat Naruto."

Naruto gawked. "SHEN!"

"The dobe? Why?" Sasuke questioned.

"If you can't beat him, how can you beat me?" Shen remarked. "Or, are you scared?" Naruto seemed to be rubbing off on Shen.

"Alright, fine," Sasuke frowned. "Naruto, you and me!"

"OK!" Naruto grinned. This was a chance he'd been waiting for.

The two boys face off against each other in an open area. The other students were all watching in rapt attention. Sasuke had moved into his usual Taijutsu stance, but Naruto had moved into one of his own. No one recognized it, but they knew it came from his odd fighting style.

"None of that naked girl crap either," Sasuke frowned. "I want a fair fight."

"Whatever," Naruto snorted. "I'm not dumb enough to pull that move with so many girls around."

Sasuke would have replied to that, but instead her lunged forward. Naruto reacted quickly dodging punches and kicks. Unlike Shen, who blocked attacks by matching strength to strength, Naruto slipped around the attacks. He twisted his body in many directions to avoid getting hit. Numerous people began to wonder just how he was able to bend in certain ways.

"Afraid to fight back, Dobe?" Sasuke smirked as he attempted another kick.

"Hey, I'm a fox, remember?" Naruto grinned. "Why fight directly when I can do it indirectly?"

Ducking underneath the kick, Naruto went into a sweep kick. He hit Sasuke's only leg, causing the Uchiha to fall to the ground. The last Uchiha hit the dirt, but recovered fast. However, Naruto was just as quick as he began a flurry of punches. Sasuke reacted quickly and began dodging them, but was forced to step back. The last Uchiha was feeling smug about how predictable Naruto's fighting style was and how easy it was to dodge. He was about to retaliate when he felt his back hit something solid. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that he was against the school wall.

'_The dobe tricked me!_' Sasuke realized.

"Don't mess with the fox!" Naruto grinned. "Nighty-night!"

POW!

Sasuke was hurtled to the side from a strong punch to his jaw. He skidded across the ground and came to a stop. He didn't get back up.

"Sasuke-kun!" several fangirls cried in dismay.

"And that is how it's done!" Naruto boasted.

"You cheated!" Sakura Haruno accused. "No way someone like you could beat Sasuke-kun!"

Naruto frowned. A long time ago he actually had a crush on the girl but after several years away he realized that she would never like him and would always be hung up on Sasuke. He would've liked her if she opened up her mind more but how long would that be? He decided to calmly give a speech instead, "Sakura, why are we here?"

"Huh?" she responded.

"Why are we in the academy?"

"To be ninjas!" she exclaimed.

"Wrong!" he retorted. "I'm here to be a ninja! Kiba's here to be a ninja! Heck even Sasuke here wants to be a ninja! You and the other fangirls are just interested in being with this teme, not to be ninjas! You only want to be ninjas to get close to him!" Naruto could see the girls fuming. "Get a reality check. Once you become ninjas, it ain't gonna be about glory or awards. Look it up." He walked away from an unconscious Sasuke who was instantly swarmed.

"Nicely said," Shen complimented. Naruto actually had good insight it was just that his personality made it hard for people to see that.

"Thanks, but it's gonna take awhile for them to get it in their heads," said Naruto. "Say, where's Mimi-chan?"

"Last time I saw, she was talking to some girl," Shen told him. "I wasn't sure about what, though."

"I wonder why?" Naruto frowned before he shrugged. "Oh well."

* * *

Mizuki sat in his chair in the teachers' lounge, contemplating his next move. He had a bold plan to achieve power and really make a rich life beyond what Konoha could offer. Sadly, he had hit a small hitch. Originally, he had planned on Naruto to be the one who would do the leg work, but after his four-year trip it didn't look like he would. Mizuki's plan called for someone easily duped and desperate for his help. Since the loud blonde was the dead last and the most clueless, it seemed that it might be him. Now, Shikamaru Nara was the last in class, but he had no drive to become a ninja. It seemed he was only in the academy because his mother nagged him into it.

Mizuki chewed on a pen while he considered his options. With Naruto's return, he might still have a chance at going by his original plan. The question was if Naruto was dumb enough to fall for it. The silver-haired instructor had heard Naruto talking to Sakura during the break and it spoke volumes about maturity and intelligence. The boy also had skill if those weird Gekiwaza he was throwing around were any indication. The Genin Exams were only a short time away and being gone for four years would not be helpful. But would what Naruto had learned during that time be enough to make up the difference?

There were also his two friends to consider. If Mizuki attempted his plan, Naruto would most definitely attempt to tell them about it. If Naruto blabbed then one of them might get suspicious and tell one of the other instructors or even the Hokage himself and then everything would be ruined. If his plan was to succeed, then he would need something to keep the other two kids quiet.

As he was marking another test, Mizuki suddenly came up with an idea. He grinned brightly as he marveled at his own genius.

* * *

ZK Chromedragozoid: Mizuki is thinking something bad. What do you think it is? Will it work? Who knows?


	3. Lesson 3: Final Exam

Chapter 3: Final Exams

The day of the Genin Exams finally rolled around and many of the students were looking incredibly nervous. Many of them had crammed the entire night so to get the right facts in their heads. Others were ready to drop since they had spent so much time practicing their jutsus. No one really knew what they were in for, but they were determined to pass no matter what.

Some of the students were not so nervous. Some like Sasuke Uchiha were just that confident in their skills and knew they were going to pass. Others like Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka believed their skill and the power of love would see them through. Some students like Shikamaru Nara and Chouji Akamichi had more important things on their mind, such as sleep or food.

Naruto, Mimi, and Shen were among the more confident students. They had studied for their tests and were ready for anything. They remained confident but knew they could still fail. What kept their attitudes upbeat was the fact that even if they failed, they would have learned something. Like Master Sha-Fu always said: in everything, there is training.

"Okay everyone, take your seats," Iruka called, getting the attention of everyone in the room. "First of all we're going to hand out a test for your knowledge. After that we're going to call you in one by one and test your practical skills. Everyone be ready."

With that, Iruka handed out the papers for the Genin test. Nothing remarkable happened save for when a desperate student attempted to cheat. Iruka caught him in a heartbeat and he was kicked out of the room, instantly failing. After that, everyone was too nervous to try cheating. Shen, Naruto, and Mimi felt they did reasonably well on the written test.

Eventually the written test came to an end. Iruka walked around the room and collected all the papers for grading later. All of the students then waited as the papers were marked. Many were nervous about where they stood in the rankings or if they had even passed the test.

"Do you think I passed, Shen-sama?" Mimi asked hopefully.

"Well, we did prepare," Shen shrugged. "Our hard work would pay off. However…" he glanced at Naruto.

"Hey, what's with that look, Shen?" questioned Naruto.

"Naruto, you fell asleep 5 times during the study session. When it comes to books…you're not exactly the most focused individual." Naruto grumbled but he wasn't about to give his friend the satisfaction that he was right.

Next, was the taijutsu exam. This time each of the students could choose their opponents. The only exception was that they couldn't choose anyone who'd fought. Now, as usual, Sasuke was called first.

Now, Sasuke had mulled over both his losses to Shen and Naruto. Since then he'd tried to find the answer to what 'Geki' was. He didn't get an answer yet but if he could find out via fighting them, he would be one step closer to attaining his revenge.

Naruto was dead last so it was humiliating to be beaten by him but he'd also been defeated by Shen, the new guy.

"Alright, Sasuke, pick your opponent," Iruka said.

"I choose…Shen," Sasuke pointed at the Lion-Ken user who looked back.

"Very well," Shen accepted. He knew Sasuke would want to avenge his loss. From what he heard the Uchiha were prideful and didn't accept the idea of others being stronger than them well. Shen had learnt that when someone was strong, they would always be someone stronger. It was a fact of life, a truth. Shen had found true strength already and its name was…Mimi.

Yes, Shen liked Mimi but she was a bit too forward and amorous for his taste. He would get ambushed by her and all that stuff. It got really annoying but he did enjoy her company. If his parents were still alive, they would approve of Mimi, no doubt. She was the one that could make him smile and forget his pain. That was why he needed to be stronger. He needed to protect his friends.

Sasuke could understand losing family. His family had been slaughtered in a single night. As the last Uchiha, Sasuke made it his ambition to kill his brother who had killed his family and revive his clan. It seemed to Shen that Sasuke was borderline obsessed with killing his brother. He was impatient and scrambling to get as strong as he could as fast as he could. Since he was ignoring his fangirls, it seemed that he cared more about simply killing his brother rather than reviving his clan first.

Sasuke and Shen squared off against each other in the ring. Sasuke wanted to take on Shen and learn more about this Geki stuff that Shen tended to use.

"Okay," Iruka spoke up as Shen and Sasuke glared at each other. "This is a Taijutsu only! You will fight for a pre-determined amount of time. When I say stop, you will stop! Failure to comply will mean instant failure! Do you understand?"

"Yes," both Sasuke and Shen nodded. They were still glaring at each other.

"Good," Iruka nodded. "Then…begin!"

Sasuke was the first to strike and Shen was forced on the defensive almost immediately. Sasuke's attacks were swift and brutal and meant to cripple Shen. Shen was forced to block, dodge, evade and deflect the strikes aimed at him. While Sasuke's fangirls were cheering him on, Shen's friends were giving him words of encouragement.

"Shen-sama! Fight back!" Mimi cried out.

"Come on, Shen!" Naruto shouted.

"Ooh, it appears that Shen is in a pinch. Will he win? Does he stand a chance?" Bae reported. "What are your thoughts, Iruka-sensei?"

"Well," Iruka pondered. "Shen looks like he's being cautious. Obviously he knows Sasuke's reputation for training and wants to see the fruits of Sasuke's labor. He's waiting to see what Sasuke might try to win."

While it looked like Shen was losing, he was actually planning. He was going on the defensive to study his 'prey'. Like a lion lying in waiting he would strike when the moment was right. He knew Sasuke would train harder to eventually have a rematch with him so Shen himself had done some training. He was going to give Sasuke the biggest shock of his life.

Sasuke felt that this time he would win but he wondered why Shen was holding back. He knew Shen should be better than this. Still, the Uchiha wasn't going to kick a gift horse in the mouth. This was an opportunity to take down Shen and Sasuke planned on using it.

Sasuke lunged forward with a kick that he aimed to knock Shen unconscious with. It looked like a win, but Shen suddenly swerved out of the way. Sasuke attempted to recover, but a sudden chop to his midsection knocked the wind out of his lungs. Turning to face Shen, he saw the Lion-ken user was holding his arms in a chop position and in a stance he hadn't used in the last fight.

Undeterred, Sasuke charged again. Shen likewise went on the attack. Sasuke went with his Uchiha fighting style, but Shen was deflecting blows with his forearms and hands before hitting him with strikes that were powered by muscle and momentum. Sasuke would be feeling the impact from the strikes for some time to come.

Sasuke got a chop to the head before he charged for a devastating uppercut. Shen saw it coming easily and redirected the blow away from his head before Sasuke received another chop to the head.

"Enough!" Iruka called, halting the battle. He looked over to the graders and saw that they had nodded to stop the fight.

"What was that?" Sasuke frowned. "You didn't use it during the last fight we had."

"GekiJyu Shark-ken," Shen answered. "I'm not very good at it though. I haven't even earned the weapons which are signature in the style yet. I still have much training left to do."

* * *

_Shen grimaced when he found who he would be training under. As much fun as Jan was as a teacher, Sharkie Chan was…well…didn't act his age at all._

"_Aw…" Sharkie Chan groaned. "I got the broody one."_

"_I'm not liking this either," Shen crossed his arms._

_Training under Sharkie Chan was physically demanding. Shen liked that. It meant he would get stronger and be able to protect people better. Unfortunately, the Shark-ken style was just as much the direction of strength as well as using it. It took Shen a long time to figure that out and Sharkie being so immature whenever Shen would 'be scary' certainly didn't help the training or Shen's temper. The clash of personalities and ideals made training in Shark-ken progress slowly._

* * *

"So you can use **two** styles?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes," nodded Shen. "We've had other Masters teaching us their styles. Naruto and Mimi too have trained in different forms of GekiJyuKen," stated Shen.

"Way to blow our secret, Shen!" Naruto groaned.

"They would've guessed it anyway, Naruto," responded Shen calmly.

"There goes the surprise," Mimi frowned.

Shen gave Sasuke a look and said, "Variety is the key," before leaving to rejoin his friends.

"Congratulations, Shen-kun!" praised Bae. Shen gave a shadow of a smile before he got hugged by Mimi. He blushed but didn't seem to reject the affection.

"That was amazing!" Mimi cheered.

Iruka was impressed as well. So, he read names off the list and crossed out the names that had been chosen as opponents. Two by two the students were tested and showed off their skills. Bae even commentated each match. Next, it was a grudge match.

"Ino Yamanaka," called Iruka. "Choose your opponent."

Now it was payback time.

"I choose…Mimi," Ino pointed at the green clad girl who was hugging the life out of Shen. Mimi heard her name called and frowned. She'd wanted to hug Shen some more but she decided to get this over with.

"OK," Mimi strode forward.

"Ooh, an exciting grudge match! Mimi VS Ino! I wonder if this will end like last time or will it be a surprise!" Bae reported. "Iruka-sensei, any thoughts of this match?"

"Well, Ino has had thorough training in the academy Taijutsu," Iruka pondered. He found he was enjoying the commentating. The students seemed to enjoy it as much as they did watching. "Ino has drive as a fighter, especially when she's against someone she has a rivalry against. Expect some serious sparks to fly."

"I'm taking you down this time!" Ino pointed at Mimi. "I won't be humiliated by you a second time!"

"If you didn't make fun of Bae-chan I wouldn't have done that!" Mimi frowned as she gave the stink-eye.

"Rrrgh!" Ino hissed, getting steamed.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru sighed from his seat on the sidelines. "Now she's got Ino ticked off. It's like a bull in a china store. Utter chaos and destruction."

"Well, that's expected," Naruto shrugged. "Does she fight as badly with Sakura as she did when I left?"

"Worse," Shikamaru answered.

"Oh," Naruto gulped.

"Okay," Iruka called, preparing them both. "Begin!"

"Hiyaaaah!" Ino cried as she dashed forward.

"Hup!" Mimi breathed as she flipped backwards to get some space.

Once Mimi was on her feet, she unleashed wide swings with her balled fists. She twirled on the spot while swinging widely. Ino attempted to block, but was finding that such a move was ill advised. Her punches hurt badly!

"And Mimi-chan goes for the power strikes!" Bae announced excitedly. "She swings with grace and strikes with might! What a combination!"

"It seems at first that she's being sloppy," Iruka observed. "But actually she's perfectly balanced and compensating such moves by spinning fast and using both arms in her movements. Still, it looks like she's using her arms and fists like hammers, much like how Shen was using his hands in place of swords.

"Ow!" Ino cried as a punch got her on the side. "Lighten up would you?!"

"This is an exam!" Mimi answered. "We're getting graded on this! I can't let up!"

"Then neither will I!" Ino growled, charging again.

Mimi wove around Ino's kick before unleashing an upward swing which tapped against Ino's temple. It was almost a miss so Ino didn't get the full force, but it still hurt and made her a little wobbly.

"Rrgh!" Ino growled. "I won't lose!"

Dashing she jumped into the air and tried a roundhouse aimed at Mimi's head. The Chameleon-ken user twirled on the spot, using both her fists and arms spread out from her sides. Her fist collided with Ino's foot. Mimi had pumped her Geki into her fists and hit Ino's foot. Unfortunately, Ino was pumping her Chakra into her foot to try and counter Mimi's hammer fists. The two attacks collided and crashed together knocking them away with the recoil.

"Woah!" Mimi cried as she rubbed the sore hand. "What was that?"

"I was doing the same thing you were doing!" Ino groaned as she limped to her feet.

"Enough!" Iruka announced, getting the signal from the judges. "You two are done."

"Whew!" Ino sighed. She stared over at Mimi and decided to swallow her pride and ask. "So, Shen mentioned you guys have two fighting styles. Which one do you use?"

"Elephant-ken!" Mimi smiled. "I don't mind it. I'd prefer to use the GekiHammer, but Elehung-sensei doesn't think I'm ready for it. He's probably afraid of giving it to me though."

"Why's that?" Ino asked with some curiosity.

"Because he can get a little pervy," Mimi growled. "I hit him when he tries something with Ran-sensei or Miki."

* * *

_Mimi hated perverts so it was a huge surprise for her when she found out her new weapons master was none other than Master Elehung._

"_We will get along well, Mimi-chan!" said the elephant man pleasantly._

"_Just keep your hands to yourself and we'll get along fine," she threatened._

_Elehung Gambou was a good teacher and a nice person, but he was a little too 'friendly' for Mimi's taste. He would just as often try to make nice with Ran or Miki as he would train her. Training with the theory of Elephant-ken was easy, since Mimi had fun with almost everything she did. Sadly, using the hammer itself was hard since it was much heavier than things she was used to. With the way Elehung chatted up Ran or Miki would get her boiling. Progress with the Elephant-ken was slow with all the interruptions and Mimi's physical status._

* * *

"I…see," Ino blinked. Well, she liked to bash perverts too. And she had dealt out her vengeance by hurting her in a fight. Maybe now that the animosity was out of the way they could actually get along.

"Okay," Iruka nodded as he checked his list. "Naruto, it's your turn now. Pick someone who hasn't fought yet."

"Right!" Naruto nodded. He looked over to the remaining students. He didn't want to fight Kiba again since that was boring, but there weren't many people. Still, he had to pick someone. "Sakura!"

"Huh?" the pink-haired girl blinked. "Me?"

"Yeah!" Naruto grinned. "I have to pick somebody, don't I?"

"I guess," Sakura sighed. "But don't expect me to go easy on you!"

"Wouldn't have it any other way!" Naruto chuckled as he and his former crush entered the arena.

"We begin our round with Naruto Uzumaki facing off against Sakura Haruno," Bae announced calmly. "Naruto Uzumaki once confessed to having a crush on this girl, will that have an affect on this match?"

"Bae," Naruto growled. "I got over her. Did you have to tell everyone?"

"Everyone knew, Naruto," Sakura giggled.

Naruto grumbled and took his spot at one end of the combat area. Sakura took the other. Iruka chuckled at Naruto's annoyance before he took his official pose.

"Begin!" Iruka called.

Sakura charged forward, per her style of doing things. Amazingly, Naruto had his eyes closed and his hands open. Sakura figured he was going to pull something and decided to end it quickly. She brought back her fist and aimed it at Naruto's face.

PAP!

Naruto caught Sakura's punch without even opening his eyes. Spinning to the side, he sent Sakura stumbling. She managed to recover and charged for another attack, but Naruto grabbed her wrist and redirected her attack away again. Sakura started growling from how this fight was turning out. It was bad enough that she was losing to the former dead last, but he wasn't even opening his eyes!

"And Naruto shows his battle skills to all!" Bae cheered. "Sakura can't even lay a punch on him!"

"Pretty impressive," Iruka smiled. "My compliments to whoever taught him that."

"And that person is Master Bat Li of the GekiJyu Bat-ken!"

* * *

_As happy as Naruto was in having a new master, he never expected it to turn out this way. It was the ever so serious Bat Li and he was holding his fan against his chest._

"_So, I guess you're my pupil," said Bat Li._

"_Yeah," nodded Naruto. "So, when do we start?"_

_Naruto never thought there would be anything more boring than school, but training in Bat-ken was proving to be pretty close. Most of it was deep meditation in Bat Li's home and Naruto thought he would die of sheer boredom. He got the practical stuff, but he couldn't truly grasp the core of the Bat-ken, internalizing the techniques so he could do them without thinking, without even considering it. While Naruto was known to do things without thinking, actually learning to do that was harder than he thought._

_

* * *

_

Naruto didn't look like he was even fighting. In fact he looked like he was actually dancing. He was moving fluidly as Sakura seemed to stumble around like a drunken monkey. It didn't do her image any good as she was growling in anger.

Sakura herself was about ready to go nuclear. She was sure that Naruto was making fun of her. No one could actually fight as if they were dancing, could they? Clenching both her fists, Sakura prepared to pound Naruto's face in.

"Stop!" Iruka called out. "You're both done."

"Okay!" Naruto grinned as he opened his eyes. "Sorry, Sakura. But I guess you need more training."

"Oh, shut up!" she growled. "All you did was dance around!"

"Actually, that's what it was," confirmed Shen. "The Bat-ken style is like dancing."

"And, a ninja should be able to avoid just as well as they attacks," spoke Iruka. "Alright, next up is…"

And so the Taijutsu exam continued on until the last two students were fought and graded. Next was the final part of the exam…Ninjutsu.

* * *

Like before, each of the students would be called up to perform a simple Ninjutsu. This year it was clones. Iruka and Mizuki were taking up residence in a single room where the students would come in one at a time. There they would perform the jutsu. This was also the most important portion of the exam. If you failed this portion, you would most likely fail the entire exam, even if you did well on the other parts. There were a few exceptions, but they were very rare.

"First up, Shino Aburame," Iruka called out to the students.

One by one, the students would go in to do the final portion of the test. Some went in and came back out with new hitae-ate sporting the symbols of Konoha on them. Others came back out looking glum with no hitae-ate.

"Mimi Fujitaka!" Iruka called out.

"Here I go!" Mimi smiled before she headed to the examination room.

Mimi shut the door behind her and planted herself in front of the two teachers. Off to the side was a table filled with hitae-ate for graduates. Standing straight, she waited for instructions from the pair of instructors.

"Okay Mimi," Iruka smiled. "I want you to create three bunshin or the equivalent with your techniques."

"Easy!" Mimi smiled. Taking a stance, she began charging up her Geki. Once she had enough, she began to use the technique. "_Gekiwaza: Wakeru Karada Ugoki!_"

Out from behind Mimi, three perfect copies of herself stepped into sight. All three of them looked like a perfect copy of the original. All three of the copies were keeping in contact with Mimi, but they looked like solid doubles.

"Excellent!" Iruka smiled. "That's very impressive Mimi!"

"Thank you!" Mimi smiled, recalling the doubles into her body.

"Go ahead and grab a hitae-ate," Mizuki nodded. "You've earned it."

"Yay!" Mimi cheered. Going to the side table, she picked up one of the many headbands before heading to the exit. She saw her two friends, waiting by the side, both looked like they were waiting for an answer. "I got it! I got it!"

"Congrats, Mimi-chan!" Naruto grinned.

"Congratulations, Mimi," Shen smiled at her.

"Oh!!!" Mimi squealed. "Thanks, guys!" She hugged the two boys.

"Yay, Mimi-chan's a ninja now!" Bae cheered. "Come on, put it on!"

"Oh, OK!" Mimi nodded before tying the headband around her head. "What do you think?"

"It fits you," Naruto gave a nod. He just hoped he could do it as well. Luckily, he had packed some leaves in his pockets to use for his clone technique.

Shen was a little worried. Clones weren't exactly his forte but with hard work and good friends for guidance he was able to master it to at least make several temporary clones to be used as decoys and diversions.

"Shen!" Iruka called.

Popping his neck from side to side, Shen gave his two best friends a nod before entering the examination room. For him to fail would just mean he needed to work harder but then again he wasn't going to fail.

Entering the empty room, Shen faced his examiners. Both had their notebooks ready and waiting to go. Iruka made some notes before he looked up at the Lion-ken user.

"Okay Shen," Iruka spoke. "We need you to create three clones. Do it any way you wish, but you need three solid clones to pass."

"Right," Shen nodded before he took a stance. He pooled up his Geki before unleashing it. "_GekiWaza: Shishi Hokori Shoshu!_"

Shen flared for a moment before three copies of himself appeared next to him. They were in the same position and were as solid as statues. They didn't move a hair, but for the sake of the test they didn't have to. Shen seemed to be having problems keeping it in control, but he managed it.

"Good," Iruka nodded. "Congratulations Shen. You pass. Take your hitae-ate."

Shen sighed and released the jutsu, making the clones vanish. Nodding to the teachers, he walked to the table and took a hitae-ate. He only took a moment to tie it around his neck before heading back out to the main classroom. Spying his friends, he waved as he headed back to their sides.

"All right Shen!" Naruto grinned. "We're two for two so far! I'm the only one left!"

"I knew you would pass Shen-sama!" Mimi cheered for her love interest. "Nothing left from you!"

"Hn," Shen sighed. His friends were sometimes way too loud for his liking sometimes. Still, he wouldn't trade them for anything. They made up his team and were practically family.

"Naruto!" Iruka called.

"Wish me luck, guys!" grinned Naruto as he entered. Like Mimi and Shen, he too received the same instructions.

"_Gekiwaza: Kitsune Bunshin_!" called out Naruto as he tossed the leaves into the air. In a poof of smoke, they turned into three perfect clones. Iruka was impressed while Mizuki resisted the urge to scowl.

"Congratulations, Naruto," smiled Iruka as he handed Naruto his hitae-ate. "You've earned it."

"Oh yeah!" Naruto cheered as he walked out of the room before going into a victory dance. "Who's the fox? Who's the fox? Yeah, I'm the fox! Oh yeah! Boo yah!"

Shen palmed his face as Mimi giggled. "Looks like we all passed," smiled Mimi.

"Let's celebrate at Ichiraku's!" Naruto cheered.

* * *

The team of three exited the academy with wide grins on their faces. They were proud of what they had achieved and were willing to show the world what they could do. Parents of other graduates could only watch them go as they realized that Naruto had passed. A bunch of them were muttering how the blonde shouldn't be allowed to be a ninja, but they were shushed by their friends.

"Hey, Naruto!" a voice called. The team turned to see who was talking before they saw Mizuki jogging up to them. "Hey, I'm glad I caught you three. Congratulations on passing the exam."

"Thanks!" Naruto grinned.

"However," Mizuki continued. "There's another part of the exam which graduates can do for extra credit. It's a team examination for experience to see if the team you have is good enough to keep."

"A team exam?" questioned Shen suspiciously.

"Like I said, it's a secret part of the exam," smiled Mizuki. "If you fail, then you'll risk being separated among other teams. I can tell you three work well together so I thought I'd inform you first."

Mimi noted the tone in Mizuki's voice. She didn't trust this guy. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to voice out her opinion when her blond friend accepted, "We'll do it!"

"Good," smirked Mizuki, handing them a note. "Here are your instructions." The Chuunin then walked off, looking pleased.

* * *

"A trap?" Naruto blinked.

"I don't trust Mizuki," stated Shen.

"Me neither," nodded Mimi.

The three GekiJyuKen users were in Naruto's apartment, sitting in a circle with Bae on Mimi's shoulder. After a victory feast at Ichiraku, both Shen and Mimi dragged Naruto back to his home to plan for their 'mission'.

"Don't you think that it is a little suspicious? A secret part of the exam?" asked Shen. "A hidden meaning is one thing, but a section that not all the graduates might take? Not likely.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, but what reason would he have to trick us?" asked Naruto.

"Naruto, a lot of people hate you because of your tenant," Shen reminded. "Who's to say he's not one of them and is just trying to find an excuse to get you killed?"

"Hm, good point. He did seem a little bit too happy," Naruto agreed. "He didn't look too happy when I passed and got my hitae-ate too."

"So, Shen-sama, what should we do?" asked Mimi.

"Oh, let's play his game and play our own game as well," smirked Shen.

"Now we're talking!" Naruto grinned.

"Alright, here's the plan…"

* * *

Mizuki slipped through the woods surrounding Konoha. It was around the time where he should be meeting the brats so he could get his hands on the Forbidden Scroll. No one was raising a funk yet so either they were better than he gave them credit for, or they had goofed and gotten caught. If it was the latter then it was no skin off his nose. The demon brat needed killing and no one would notice his two friends going missing.

Leaping over a branch, he spotted the clearing he was supposed to be meeting the brats in. Sure enough, they were there. Naruto had the Forbidden Scroll on his shoulder and his teammates were with him. Now he could take them all out at once.

"Congratulations, you three," said Mizuki. "Now, hand over the scroll."

"Take it," Shen said firmly. He nodded to Naruto, who in turn tossed the large scroll into Mizuki's arms. The man smirked before he undid the seal and opened it, itching to see the number of forbidden jutsus inside. However, as the seal came loose, the scroll vanished in a puff of smoke only to be replaced by a log.

"Huh?" Mizuki blinked. "What the hell is this?!"

"A double cross," a new voice spoke.

Mizuki blinked and turned to see who was talking. To his surprise, he saw Iruka step out from behind a tree. He had a deep frown on his face.

"Iruka?!" Mizuki gasped.

"He's not alone either," a wizened voice spoke up.

Breaking out in a cold sweat, Mizuki turned to see the Hokage himself appear with his pipe in his hand, "I am severely disappointed in you Mizuki. To attempt to use children in a ploy to gain power."

"But…how?!" Mizuki gaped.

"Isn't it obvious?" asked Iruka. Mizuki's fear grew as more Jounin and Chunin appeared in the clearing. "You should have worked on your cover story a little more. Naruto and his friends went straight to me after you told your tale. A secret exam? What kind of student would fall for that?"

"An idiot like Naruto!" Mizuki hissed. "He was supposed to do what I said. He wasn't supposed to think things through like this!"

"Hey, I find that insulting!" Naruto snapped.

"Naruto maybe a little messy at times, and has a habit of jumping into action without thinking," said Shen, earning him a glare from his Fox-Ken using friend. "But he's no idiot."

"That's right," said Mimi. "And if he's the idiot, what does that make you, shit-lock?"

Mizuki growled but then decided to at least get in a final word. He was going to put a nail in Naruto's coffin, "Alright, brat. You want to know why you were hunted down by mobs and almost killed as a kid?" Naruto stared. "Well, there's a reason! 12 years ago, a baby was born and…"

"Mizuki, no!" shouted Iruka. "The law!"

"The reason the villagers hate you is…" Mizuki tried to expose Naruto and cause him to doubt himself but unfortunately for him, Naruto beat him to the punch.

"Because I'm the Kyuubi incarnate?" Naruto finished Mizuki was stunned. "Yeah, yeah, blah, blah, yadda, yadda, I know. I found out years ago. That's old news, teme."

"And, to correct you, he's the Kyuubi's jailor, not the demon itself," stated Shen, arms crossed.

"Hey, Iruka-sensei, need help?" asked Naruto.

"No, you guys get back," Iruka warned. "We'll deal with this."

Mizuki growled as he felt his world crumble down around him. His plan for riches and power was ruined right before his eyes. This was all the little demon's fault! That demon and his little friends. The world would be better off if they all were dead! If he killed the demon, the people would revolt against the Hokage and get him free! Perfect!

"You little demon!" Mizuki roared as he drew one of his giant shurikens. "Just DIE!!'

Hurling the weapon, he intended for it to pierce Naruto in the centre of the chest. To his anger, it missed when the orange-clad boy and his friends. The three GekiJyuKen users split into three directions. Naruto took Mizuki head on while Shen and Mimi took his sides.

"You just made a big mistake," Naruto growled.

"We GekiJyuKen users are a funny group," Shen added with a frown.

"When you attack one of us, you attack all of us!" Mimi finished.

Naruto aimed a kick at Mizuki's head and he dodged to the side only for Shen's foot to ram into his gut, knocking the wind out of him. Mimi leapt onto Naruto's shoulders and lunged at Mizuki, striking his chest with a double footed kick before Shen and Naruto caught her arms to pull her back and then Mimi tossed Naruto at Mizuki, striking him with a tornado kick. The flurry of attacks wasn't something new to Mizuki but the three GekiJyuKen users were coordinated and attacking in tandem. Mizuki wasn't even given time to perform handseals to perform jutsus. However, he did have something in his pocket to that could even the odds. All he needed was the time to use it.

He had been given the ingredients for it from a kid named Kabuto who worked under a common employer they both had. Mizuki had gotten the ingredients he needed already and was saving it for an emergency. Just in case some of his plans ended up failing. Still, he never throught he would need it against three brats.

Naruto took point in the next assault as he charged at the silver-haired traitor again. Mizuki watched him come before moving. As Naruto extended his hand for a punch, Mizuki grabbed it and turned the force against him before hurling the blonde back at his teammates.

"I'm not going to end this way!" Mizuki growled. "I am going to have power! I am going to have wealth! I will have it all!"

Plunging a hand into his pocket, Mizuki pulled out a vial filled with some kind of substance. The surrounding ninjas began to prepare to attack, but the Hokage was keeping a signal to stay back. Mizuki popped the top off the vial before giving a downright evil smirk. Still smirking, he downed the contents of the vial without hesitation.

"Now you little freaks are going to get it," Mizuki smirked. "You are so going to get it!"

Before the three new genin and several elder ninjas' eyes, Mizuki's body began to change. His muscles grew to nearly triple to what they were. Stripes stretched across his body. His shirt tore open as his muscles grew too big for it. Mizuki didn't stop there though. His body shifted further, growing fur and changing into something that looked like a tiger.

"I'm going to tear you three to shreds!" Mizuki roared as he flexed his claws.

"Hokage-sama!" Iruka cried. "We have to move in!"

Sarutobi only frowned. Those three kids didn't seem to be very intimidated. They found Mizuki's transformation strange, but not terrifying. It was like they were used to facing some monsters like these before. Just what had their training been like.

"Oh man!" Naruto grimaced. "He's like a devil version of Sensei-tachi!"

"Don't even joke about that," Shen growled. "He's not worthy of being compared to them."

"I think it's time we break out THOSE," Mimi suggested as she eyed the mutant Mizuki. "Otherwise we might find ourselves in trouble."

"Good idea," Shen agreed.

"This is gonna rock!" Naruto grinned. He had been dying to test out his teachers' last gift before they had left. Now was the perfect time.

Using their individual illusionary jutsus to confuse Mizuki and buy themselves time, the GekiJyuKen trio made distance and spread their arms to the side.

Naruto ordered, "Let's do this! Tagire! Power of the Beasts!"

Shen and Mimi followed suit, "Tagire! Power of the Beasts!"

"BEAST ON!" the trio called out as they punched their right fists into their left palms and the fingers on their left hands pressed down on the knuckles.

All the present ninja watched as the trio's Geki flared up around them, taking the forms of the beasts their JyuKen styles were based on. A green chameleon formed around Mimi, a black lion formed around Shen and an orange fox formed around Naruto. Then, the beasts exploded into flashes of light before engulfing the trio.

When the glow died down, the three genin had changed.

All three of them were donned in a new kind of outfit. Naruto's was orange like his jacket and had claw marks on the front. The back was decorated with a black lining which was similar to a fox's tail. On his hands were the gauntlets he had been wearing before. His shoulders had black markings like fur that could be seen on his sides. His head was covered with an orange helmet that had a black visor. The helmet had a style similar to an animal and had slight protrusions similar to fox ears.

"Mischief is my style! The trickster with a hundred ways of winning. Unlimited Cunning! GekiOrange!"

Shen's new outfit had a different look to it, but similar shape. It was mainly black with gold claw marks on the chest. The back had a gold mane design on the shoulders while a tails was designed on the back. The orange gauntlets remained on his fists. His helmet was black with a gold lined black visor over his eyes. The back of the helmet looked like it had a gold mane. A small pair of ear-like protrusions were on the top to finish his animal-like appearance.

"The King of Beasts, powerful and noble. Unyielding Power! GekiBlack!"

Mimi's was somewhat different than the other two. Her suit was deep green and had a skirt on it. She also had the same orange gauntlets that her teammates had. Black clawmarks were on the centre of her chest. On the back was a curled chameleon's tail etched in black while scale markings were on her shoulders and sides. Her helmet had a black visor like the other two and had frills like a chameleon's head near the back of her helmet.

"Walking the road of life, adapting to any challenge I face. Wise Instincts! GekiGreen!"

All three of the suited fighters stood tall and pointed out at the bestial Mizuki, "JyuKen is the fist of Justice! Konoha Jyuken Sentai! GekiRangers!"

"Incredible," Iruka gaped as he took in the transformation of the three students. He hadn't seen anything like this before. He had heard of something similar. It was a new technology from the Land of Snow. "Could it be Chakra Armor?"

"Similar, but no," Sarutobi observed. "It is probably tuned to this Geki energy that the children use."

"Should we move in?" asked another ninja.

"Not yet," Sarutobi answered. "The children asked for a chance to face Mizuki when they told me about the plot. If they feel they can take him even now, then I feel as if I must allow them the chance."

"But they're just new genin!" Iruka cried.

"But have had extensive and rigorous training in an art we know nothing about," Sarutobi retorted. "This will be a good test to see just how well that training has served them."

GekiOrange used Mizuki's stunned reaction to attack first and the mutated tiger-man tried his best to defend himself. It didn't take him long to find out that the suits weren't just for show. In fact it was increasing Naruto's speed and strength. The Kyuubi's host struck hard and fast, never letting up as he attacked the traitor.

Both Shen/GekiBlack and Mimi/GekiGreen then leapt into the fray, once again attacking using their respective styles. Now Mizuki realized he was in deep trouble and hated it. These kids in spandex were making a fool out of him.

"RAGH!" Mizuki cried out as he swiped his claw at GekiGreen, causing sparks to fly off her suit.

"Ah!" GekiGreen cried.

"Mimi-chan!" GekiOrange yelled.

GekiBlack suddenly roared and lunged at Mizuki angrily as GekiOrange went to check on his female teammate.

"That was a mistake!" roared GekiBlack.

"I'm not going to let some snot-nosed brats beat me!" roared Mizuki.

"Well looks like it's your unlucky day!" GekiBlack roared back. "_Gekiwaza: Shishi Dan!_"

GekiBlack launched his fist forward and his Geki erupted in a large black lion. The beast roared and leaped at Mizuki with its claws outstretched. The mutated teacher prepared himself and attempted to block the oncoming attack. The black and gold lion crashed against the tiger humanoid. Mizuki skidded backwards as he tried to hold the Geki construct back, but the lion won with a final roar with sent him onto his back.

"You okay, Mimi-chan?" asked GekiOrange as he kneeled next to his teammate.

"I'm fine," GekiGreen answered as she rubbed her chest. "Let's get this guy!"

Getting to their feet, the two GekiRangers dashed over to help their friend and teammate. Seeing his two friends coming over, GekiBlack dashed to their side, "Glad to see that you're okay."

"So what's the plan?" asked GekiGreen as she watched Mizuki getting back to his feet. "He's pretty tough."

"My Shishi Dan knocked him down, but it didn't do too much," GekiBlack answered.

"Hmmm, maybe a combination attack?" asked GekiOrange. "We can't use the Geki Geki Ho though. It would take too long to charge."

"Then how about our normal ones?" asked GekiGreen. "Fast and strong."

"Works for me!" GekiOrange grinned.

"RAAAAHHHH!!" Mizuki roared as he finally got to his feet. Apparently his huge muscles were a handicap when it came to movement.

"Hey, you're just in time to get your butt kicked!" GekiGreen giggled. She and her teammates stepped into a line. All of them held out their arms in front of themselves and began pooling their energy together.

"_Gekiwaza!_" all three cried at once. Their respective Geki started glowing as they prepared to launch their attacks.

"_Shishi Dan!_"

"_Kon Kon Ha!_"

"_Midori Midori Dan!_"

All three Gekirangers unleashed large blasts of Geki at Mizuki. To the collected ninja's amazement, the Geki shifted form into three animals. The lion had returned in its black and gold glory. The Geki from GekiOrange shifted into a large metallic fox that was black and orange. Thankfully it only had one tail. GekiGreen's Geki shifted into a metallic chameleon that was green and black with some purple accents. It was a little shorter than the other two, but obviously just as powerful.

All three beasts lunged at Mizuki with loud cries. The mutated ninja could only gape at what he was facing down. He tried to hold them off like he had done with the lion. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out to be so easy. As he tried to hold the fox off, the lion and chameleon collided with his sides. When the two hit him, the fox slipped through and completed the attack. There was a bright flash on impact before a deafening explosion followed, sending dirt and dust in all directions.

When the dust cloud cleared, it showed Mizuki lying in the crater. He wasn't dead since his chest was rising and falling. The three Rangers surrounded him, watching him. Slowly, Mizuki's body began to deteriorate as his muscles shrunk and he became wrinkly, his skin darkening and his hair turning white.

"Ew!" GekiGreen grimaced under her helmet.

"He looks like a prune!" GekiOrange stuck his tongue out under his helmet. GekiBlack silently agreed.

"What did you brats do to me?" gasped Mizuki.

"They did nothing, Mizuki," said Iruka as he arrived. The three Rangers removed their helmets. "It's your own fault. That formula you drank must've been defective."

"No. Orochimaru-sama…" Mizuki groaned. He couldn't believe that a gift from his master failed him so.

"Orochimaru?" Shen gave Iruka a questioning glance. The scarred teacher's frown turned extremely grim. Several other ninjas likewise frowned. Obviously the name was familiar to Konoha, and not very well liked in the least.

"We will discuss this thoroughly with Ibiki," Sarutobi frowned as he stepped forward. "In the meantime, take him to the hospital. I don't want him dying on us before we get some information out of him."

"Hai, Hokage-sama," several ninjas nodded before they hefted the shriveled Mizuki and took off with him.

Sarutobi sighed as he, Iruka, and the GekiRangers were the only ones left in the clearing. They could see the years catching up with the aged leader. It lasted for a moment before he turned to face his four friends.

"Konoha owes you three a great debt," he spoke. "You have helped root out a traitor and spy for a very dangerous man. In thanks, I will award each of you the pay for an A-rank mission. You've all earned it."

"Aw shucks," Naruto grinned as he scratched the back of his head. "We'd have done it for free."

"But the money is appreciated," Shen nodded. "It will definitely be put towards good use."

"Yeah! Like making sure Naru-chan doesn't eat ramen at every meal," Miki smiled.

"Hey!" Naruto huffed.

"Hm," Sarutobi smiled. "Still, we'd have to debrief in my office. I have a few questions about what I've seen tonight. Questions like what those suits you are wearing are for."

"Oh, these are standard uniforms for GekiRangers," Mimi explained. "They are for GekiJyuKen practitioners who have achieved a level of mastery. Sort of like black belts for regular kempo users. We don't stop learning, but we can be trusted with what we've learnt from our teachers."

"Very impressive," Iruka smiled. "Especially for ones so young."

"Yeah. We rock and we know it!" Naruto grinned.

"You'll have to tell me some stories about your teachers sometime," Sarutobi smiled. "But first, we have a debriefing to get to. Then we can celebrate your victory."

"Yahoo! Ichiraku!" Naruto cheered.

* * *

News had spread through the ninja families the next day. People had heard that the three new arrivals to Konoha had defeated a chuunin the previous night. Some people heard the truth and others heard rumors that the three GekiJyuKen users had totally dominated the traitor. Everyone had aversion of the story and soon the civilians managed to get wind of it. Soon enough, everyone knew that Mizuki was a traitor and that Naruto and his two friends had managed to defeat him.

"My photo stinks," Naruto huffed. The three were getting their ID's done and Naruto was complaining that he couldn't make his dramatic. Mimi and Shen had squashed his plans for that.

When they finished their ID's, the group was heading out to find a place to train. They needed some space to practice their styles. Konoha was as peaceful as usual, but nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.

Well, save for the square rock with eyeholes following the trio.

"Do you have the feeling we're being followed?" asked Mimi as she looked over her shoulder at the 'rock'.

"It's not a feeling once confirmed," stated Shen. He watched as Naruto spun around and snapped at the rock.

"OK, buddy! Whoever you are, get out from under there! No real rock is that square!" Naruto shouted.

Suddenly, there was an explosion of smoke coming from the box and then the sound of coughing. Once it'd cleared up, they saw a boy with a ridiculously long scarf standing before them.

"Who the hell are you?" asked Naruto at the bizarre kid. He looked like he was 7 or 8.

"I am the future Hokage, Konohamaru!" the young boy announced loudly. "And I expected you to see through my disguise! You are all worthy rivals of me!"

"Yeah right," Shen grumbled.

"Kawaii!" Mimi giggled.

"You? Hokage?" Naruto frowned. "Yeah right! There's no way that you would become Hokage! You're too shrimpy!"

"You take that back!" Konohamaru snapped. "I will be Hokage and I'll do it by defeating Grandpa and taking his place!"

"Grandpa?" asked Shen. "Are you saying that Sarutobi-san is your grandfather?"

"Yeah!" Konohamaru nodded. "And I'm gonaa take his place! And you're gonna help me!"

"Help you?" asked Naruto with a frown. "Yeah right!"

"Teach me that JyuKen stuff!" Konohamaru demanded. "Grandpa doesn't know anything about it! It's my chance to beat him and become the next Hokage!"

"No way!" Naruto denied. He didn't like being stalked. Reminded him way too much of the villagers trying to catch him off guard and attack him.

"Aw, come on, Naru-chan!" Mimi said as she walked over to Konohamaru and knelt down beside the boy. "How can you say no to such a cute little face?"

"Easy," Naruto huffed. "I just open my mouth and say N-O. No."

Konohamaru admired Mimi and started to blush.

"And, Mimi, we're all still trainees ourselves. We can't teach anyone," said Shen logically.

Mimi frowned, "Fine! I'll teach him!"

"What?" Shen gawked. "Mimi, you can't be serious!"

"Watch me, Shen-sama!" Mimi remarked. "Bae-chan, let's go and spread the knowledge of JyuKen!"

"OK, Mimi-chan!" cheered Bae.

"Oh, this I gotta see," snickered Naruto. "You coming, Shen?"

"I don't have anything better to do," Shen shrugged.

* * *

Naruto and Shen both watched Mimi teach Konohamaru about the principles of GekiJyuKen. They boy liked it, but he was definitely not willing to learn it the way it was meant to be used. He wanted to use it so he could beat his grandfather. Konohamaru would only get the basics and wouldn't be able to develop his own JyuKen if he kept that attitude up.

"He's grasped the basics quick enough," Shen commented. "If he could just learn the true meaning of GekiJyuKen, he might become great in time."

"Yeah, real shame," Naruto sighed.

"Good going, Kono-chan!" Mimi smiled encouragingly to the young boy. "You're picking this up pretty fast."

"I have to," Konohamaru grunted as he went through some kicks. He was still blushing from Mimi's encouragement though. "I wanna beat Grandpa as soon as possible."

"But why do you want to beat him?" asked Bae. "He is a very kind man and easy to get along with. Why would you want to fight him in battle?"

"Well," Konohamaru frowned. "Whenever someone talks to me, they keep calling me Honored Grandson. They don't even use my real name. They're only nice to me because I'm the Hokage's grandson. They're not nice to me because I'm me. That's why I want to be Hokage, so I can step out of his shadow!"

"That's a dumb reason!" Naruto snapped, making everyone look at him.

"What?!" Konohamaru frowed.

"Listen Konohamaru," Naruto frowned as he stepped up to the kid. "Being the Hokage is tough! You have to take care of everything in the village. It's not just about proving you're the strongest and that's it! There's a lot of hard work involved. You can't just be the strongest ninja, you also have to be the smartest and a whole bunch of other things you have to be really good at before they even consider you! The entire village is your responsibility so you had better be ready for the responsibility or else you won't be even considered for the role."

"Wow," Konohamaru blinked. His grandfather had told him that before after one of his attacks. It was put more gently than Naruto had put it, but the message was the same.

"Well put, Naruto," Shen nodded. He then looked to Konohamaru. "The GekiJyuKen is a fist of justice and one has to have a desire to protect rather than destroy if they wish to unlock their potential in it. If you don't care about the people around you, then you will not be able to learn it."

"That's right Kono-chan," Mimi nodded. "Your gandpa got where he was through years of hard work and dedication. He is also loved by the people because he loves them back. They are his precious people and he wants to protect that. That's what GekiJyuKen was made for."

Konohamaru felt himself being a little overwhelmed. Even though he tried to attack his grandpa a lot, he loved the old man like no one would believe. Sarutobi was a hero to little Konohamaru and he really looked up to him. If the old man died then Konohamaru wouldn't know what he would do. The same went for his mom, his dad, and even his Uncle Asuma. Konohamaru would do anything to make sure they didn't have to get hurt. He also knew that if he wantd to get strong enough to protect them, he would have to work hard to get the strength he needed.

"There you are!" the four kids heard to see a man clad in black and wearing black glasses. "I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Go away, Ebisu!" snapped Konohamaru.

"Don't take that tone with me, Honored Grandson," Ebisu frowned as he took Konohamaru's hand. "You had better try to learn from me a little better or you won't become Hokage!"

"I don't wanna! Leggo!" shouted Knohamaru.

"Hey, if the kid doesn't want to go then there's no point in forcing him," Naruto frowned. "Besides, what's one day? We were teaching him a thing or two anyway."

"Hmph!" Ebisu snorted as he adjusted his glasses. "I don't expect you outsiders to know just how important jutsus and such are to the Elemental Countries. Where you come from this JyuKen nonsense might be considered fighting, but here the standard is much higher!"

"Hey! We don't go insulting your fighting style!" Mimi frowned. "Besides, you've never even seen GekiJyuKen before!"

"If just anybody can learn it then it isn't much," snorted Ebisu.

Naruto frowned and gave a wide grin. He then performed one of his Gekiwaza while Shen covered Mimi's eyes and screwed his own shut. Bae took responsibility to cover Konohamaru's eyes too with his body. Ebisu stood ready for any assault, but he wasn't expecting much.

"_Gekiwaza: Kitsune Henge! Kitsune Bunshin_!"

Ebisu was knocked out by a massive nosebleed. The reason…well, seeing a hot gang of naked girls would do that to a guy. With Ebisu out cold and Naruto undoing the technique, everyone was finally allowed to open their eyes. Mimi sighed as she watched unconscious Ebisu who was still leaking blood.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't see you use another pervy technique," Mimi sighed. "Since this guy was being a jerk and all."

"What on earth possessed you to do that?" asked Shen with a tired frown.

"I recognize this guy from when I was in the bookstore looking for some physical training manuals," Naruto replied. "I spotted him in the adult section wearing a thick coat so no one could see his face. I almost didn't recognize him until he got close enough. So, I figured what better to take down a pervert?"

"Ha! I knew he was a pervert!" Konohamaru laughed. After getting over his bout of laughs, he looked ip to the team. "That was amazing though! You took him out without any effort! Totally awesome!"

"You bet it was!" Naruto grinned. "But it took a buttload of hard work a perseverance to learn and master it. You wanna be Hokage? You'd better work even harder than that!"

"You bet I will Boss!" Konohamaru grinned.

* * *

ZK Chromedragozoid: Gekirangers debut. Let's see what happens next. Who will be their teacher? You'll be surprised.


	4. Lesson 4: Meeting Sensei

Chapter 4: Meeting Sensei

A week later, Mimi, Shen and Naruto were summoned back to the Academy. They'd been assigned into their team already. It made sense to put them all together since they already worked well together and Sarutobi didn't want to mess up with the team dynamic.

At the meeting, the council had tried to break the three apart. One even suggested for Naruto to be teamed with Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. They expected Naruto to teach Sasuke GekiJyuKen but Sarutobi forbade it. The three GekiJyuKen genin would be on the same team and that was final.

Shen was just reading a book as Mimi hugged Bae like a doll. Naruto was nearly close to falling asleep. Last night they'd done some training until very late at night so they hadn't gotten much sleep. Strangely, Shen still looked fresh and alert.

"Wonder who's gonna be our new instructor?" said Mimi.

"I don't know and don't care," said Shen. "I don't care who we get as long as he or she can help us improve."

"Yeah," Naruto nodded. "But I sure hope we don't get someone who hates me."

"That would be counterproductive," commented Shen.

"Too bad we can't get Iruka-sensei," frowned Mimi. "He's nice."

"Yes, but we need a jounin, and he's a chuunin," said Bae.

Soon enough all the new genin were seated at their desks. At the front of the room were several jounin. They looked like an odd group of people, but they were definitely good at what they did. Iruka was in front of them with a clipboard. No doubt it was for who was assigned to which team.

"Okay everybody! Today you begin your career as genin. Remember that you are now shinobi of Konoha. Make sure that all of your actions are a credit to us." Iruka announced. Seeing he was getting no resistance, he decided to get to the main situation. "Okay. Now we begin team assignments. Team 1…"

Each student paid close attention to who was being called. All of them were hoping that they would be with some friends. Others were just hoping that they would be paired up with crushes (Ino, Sakura).

"Team 7," Iruka spoke up. "We have Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno…"

"YES!" Sakura suddenly cried out in her victory over her rival, Ino. Iruka promptly ignored her as he continued.

"And Jin Shirune. Your jounin sensei is Kakashi Hatake," Iruka continued. Team 8 will be Hinata Hyuuga, Shino Aburame, and Kiba Inuzuka. Your jounin sensei will be Kurenai Yuhi."

Hinata fidgeted slightly and looked to both her new male teammates before she smiled shyly. Shino nodded as Kiba grinned wildly.

"Team 9 will be Naruto Uzumaki, Shen Long, and Mimi Fujitaka," Iruka announced before he saw who their teacher would be. He flinched as he read the name. "Your jounin sensei will be Anko Mitirashi."

Shen sighed at the revelation of his last name. The reason he didn't like it was because it was the same name as the Dragon-ken user who tried to destroy the world. Pushing aside the issue for later, he and his team looked to the grinning jounin who was looking at them. She was a woman who was wearing a tan trenchcoat and a fishnet shirt with a short skirt. Her hair was short with some of it tied up at the back. She also had a dango stick in her mouth.

"Creepy," Naruto muttered.

"She seems like fun," Mimi commented.

"She'd better be good," Shen muttered.

* * *

After team assignments had been given, Anko took the three GekiJyuKen users to her favorite spot for introductions. It was outside her favorite dango stand where she would usually get her snacks.

"OK, this is just a formality, but let's just go with the flow," said Anko, "Now, introduce yourselves, tell us your likes, dislikes and your dreams." She pointed at Mimi, "Let's start with you."

"Sensei, could you give us an example, first?" asked Mimi.

Anko sighed, "Fine, I'll start. My name's Anko Mitirashi and I like dango and good long fights. What I dislike are traitors and people who slack off. My dreams are none of your business. Good enough?"

"Hai!" Mimi smiled. "My name's Mimi Fujitaka and I like sweets and Shen-sama. What I dislike are perverts and people who don't take things seriously. My dream is to show people that women are as good as warriors as men are. Oh, that and marry Shen-sama."

"Cute," Anko snickered. "Okay, emo boy next."

"My name's Shen Long," Shen answered. "I like training and learning new things. I dislike people who don't earn what they get and being teased because of my name. My dream is to surpass my teacher and show him I am worthy of what he taught me."

"Not bad," Anko nodded as she chomped some dango. "Okay, blondie."

"Name's Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto grinned. "I like my friends and ramen. I dislike people who betray others and the three minutes it takes to cook ramen. My dream is to become Hokage!"

'_Sounds like I got a real mixer of a team,_' Anko thought to herself. Well, she could have done worse anyway. "Okay, the Hokage assigned me to you brats so I hope you can make it worth my time. We meet tomorrow at Training Ground 9."

"Is it our first mission?" asked Naruto excitedly.

"No, but you'd better treat it like one. This is going to be a test!" Anko grinned. "And you better hope you pass or else you're going to be sent back to the academy if you don't!"

"WHAT?" the three GekiJyuKen students cried out.

"And you better put some backbone into it too," Anko continued to snicker. "'Cause the failure rate for this test is sixty-six percent."

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Naruto cried out loudly.

"Nope," Anko smirked sinisterly. "Better prepare. For your sakes I hope you make it interesting."

With that, she tossed some money to the vendor before she vanished in a swirl of dust and leaves. It left the three GekiJyuKen users to try and recover from their shock and develop a plan to pass the upcoming test.

* * *

Later, the Rangers were walking back to Naruto's place. Many of the villagers glanced at the three.

"Do you think she was serious about sending us back to the academy if we failed?" asked Mimi.

"I don't know what to think but we better prepare for anything," said Shen.

"Oh, it can't be that hard!" laughed Naruto.

"Naruto, be serious," Shen frowned. "I can't believe you're so easygoing."

"Hey, as long as we work together, we can do anything," said Naruto. "So, who's up for more training? I think I can get the Rai Rai Jyu right this time."

* * *

The next day, the Rangers met up at the designated area with their instructor, Anko. She had a dango stick between her teeth and looking at them all. She grinned, "I sure hope you didn't have a huge breakfast, kids, because you're gonna be seeing it again once this test is done."

Mimi and Shen both seemed ready for anything. Naruto on the other hand just snorted and crossed his arms. He obviously wasn't too concerned about the test that Anko was about to administer. He probably forgot about the sixty-six percent failure rate.

"This is going to be a simple test even for you rookies," Anko smirked as she idly tossed a kunai in her hand. Where she got it was anyone's guess, but Naruto figured it was how Mimi was able to pull out a hammer to hit perverts with when she got really mad.

"So what's the test?" Naruto asked.

"Why? Eager to fail?" Anko grinned, making the blonde snort. "Okay, your test is simple. You three have to start here and then reach the Hokage Monument before the sun goes down."

"What kind of test is that?" Naruto cried out.

"My kind of test," Anko smirked. "You see, I'm going to be attacking you at random moments during the test. You'll have to fend me off if you want to get there on time."

The Rangers exchanged looks and Shen spoke up, "So, this is basically a survival test."

"That's right," Anko grinned. "And, you all gotta reach the finish line. If one of you fails, all of you fail."

"Sounds fair," Shen shrugged. "We're teammates. We win together and lose together."

"And we'll definitely win!" Naruto exclaimed with great determination.

"That's the spirit, Naruto-kun!" encouraged Bae. Mimi nodded in agreement.

Anko smiled. This team definitely got the whole teamwork thing down. Still, she wanted to put it to the test. "OK, let's start the test!" She then vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Good luck, everyone!" cheered Bae as he watched the three Rangers go on the run.

Shen was in the lead with both Naruto and Mimi behind him. It'd been agreed a long time ago that Shen was their field leader. Naruto did complain at the beginning but when told of the difference between him and Shen, they finally agreed on it. Still, Naruto was made his wing-man and the duo, along with Mimi, worked together well.

"Keep ALL your senses opened," Shen advised. "Mimi, use your eyes to scan the area. With your skill you got a 360 degree of vision. Naruto, listen and sniff her out."

"OK, Shen-sama!"

"You got it, Shen!"

This was a test between a jounin and three students of the GekiJyuKen Beast Arts. For the honor of their school, they will not fail!

* * *

"AGH! SNAKES! SNAKES!" Naruto cried as he and his friends dashed down the streets of Konoha. The reason for their distress? Several dog-sized snakes were chasing them with loud hisses.

"This is getting annoying," Shen growled.

From the moment they had exited the training grounds, Anko had assaulted the trio with kunai, shuriken, and other such implements. However, Mimi's vision and Naruto's senses managed to pinpoint where the weapons were coming from and they managed to avoid them.

This went on until they actually managed to get into the city. However, Anko apparently got bored with kunai and shuriken. When they got into the town, Anko began shooting snakes at them. Naruto took the brunt of the snakes for his team since the Kyuubi rendered their poisons useless. However, after a bit of that, Anko began summoning larger snakes to try and deter the team from reaching their goal.

"Tsk!" Shen frowned as he reverse kicked a snake in the face, making it vanish in a plume of smoke. "Naruto, calm down! Anko-sensei's trying to keep us off track!"

"Huh?" Naruto blinked as he glanced at his friend.

"Yah!" Mimi cried, knocking another large snake into its fellows, making them get tangled together. "Shen-sama's right! Anko-sensei's trying to keep us away from the monument, remember?"

"Oh! Right!" Naruto gasped, remembering the stipulation of the test now that the snakes were dealt with. "These snakes were chasing us away!"

"Right," Shen nodded. "We have to keep moving towards the monument. We can't be reckless either or else we'll get caught up in traps like these. We only have a little bit of time before sunset so we have to keep moving!"

"Right!" Naruto and Mimi nodded.

"Naruto," began Shen as he looked to his blonde teammate. "Mimi," he added, looking to the green clad girl. "If we're gonna pass Anko-sensei's test, we're going to have to use what we've got."

"Our Gekiwaza!" Mimi realized. They hadn't been using any of their special techniques.

"Naruto can cause confusion if he uses his clones," Shen said. "Mimi, you can disguise yourself and conceal your presence completely. I, on the other hand, have good hunting instincts."

"So, divide and conquer," Naruto concluded.

"We split up, and try to confuse and take down Anko-sensei before she can take us down. Then, we reach the goal together." Shen extended his hand. "You with me?" Naruto slapped his hand on top of Shen's.

"Count me in!" Naruto grinned. Mimi slapped her hand atop Naruto's.

"Me too," Mimi beamed.

"Alright. Let's start Operation: Divide and Conquer," Shen said.

* * *

Shen ran down back alleys as he tried to keep the snakes from attacking him. Their size had increased to just under the size of cars and they were more than capable of swallowing him. Dashing past one determined cobra, Shen turned past a corner and stopped at a dead end.

"Teammates ditched ya, didn't they?"

Shen turned around and saw Anko sitting on the back of a horse-sized snake like a queen reclining on her throne. She seemed completely at ease with the snakes around her as she chewed at the end of a dango stick while cleaning under her nails with a kunai.

"Kind of a disappointment," the special jounin shrugged with a sinister snicker. "Well, at least I get to have some fun for a while." Flipping the kunai into the air, she and the snakes began to advance on the cornered Shen.

"_Gekiwaza! Kitsune Bunshin!_"

Suddenly, all of the little stones and rocks which littered the ground exploded into clones of Naruto. The snakes were besieged by the numerous copies as they were tackled and attacked. Anko narrowly missed getting kicked in the head by one clone as it dived at her. Snorting, she stabbed it in the back, making it explode into smoke before a pebble dropped to the ground.

"You cheeky little brat," Anko snorted. She tried to sound upset, but she was honestly impressed with the sneak attack. "So where's the girl?"

"Hiyaaaa!"

Anko suddenly felt something hit her back, making her body suddenly feel heavier. Sheer reflex got her to stumble away from the attacker and onto a higher vantage point. She felt like several large rocks had been tied to her back, but she was still able to move. She knew that was a female voice, but where was the little brat?

"Take her down!" Shen ordered.

"OK, Shen-sama!" Mimi's voice was heard.

'_So, the girl can become invisible and mask her chakra signature_,' thought Anko. '_Interesting. Might make a good assassin one day too_.'

"DOG PILE!" the Naruto clones shouted as they rained down on Anko.

"That trick won't work!" Anko crowed as she went into a flurry of moves, striking at the clones like a serpent aiming for its prey. She lashed out, rendering them back into pebbles. She grinned. These kids were definitely an interesting bunch. "Got anymore tricks?"

"Tsui Tsui Zen!" A pair of arms shot out from under Anko and grabbed her legs before pulling her down to the ground.

"What the hell?" Anko cried as she felt herself sink into the dirt. '_Dammit! He pulled one of Kakashi's tricks!_"

Anko felt herself pulled down until only her head was sticking out of the dirt. As she was secured by the ground, the clones poofed out of existence. Meanwhile, Shen walked over to the downed jounin while Naruto rose from the dirt and Mimi faded into view. All three had smug grins on their faces.

"Ha! We got you Anko-sensei!" Naruto grinned.

"Sorry," Mimi apologized, "But you left us no choice."

"We'll see you at the Hokage Monument," said Shen. "Ja ne."

The trio then rushed off towards their goal, leaving Anko where she is.

Anko couldn't help but grin. "Those three are gonna make quite the team here." She then heard footsteps. "How long have you been there, Iruka?"

"Long enough," the chuunin answered.

"Mind helping a lady in need?" she asked sweetly.

"If I can find one," he joked.

"Ha, ha," she laughed sarcastically. "Just get me out of here!" she snapped impatiently.

"OK, OK," he nodded.

* * *

By the time the Rangers reach the top of the monument, the sun was about to go down. This allowed them to enjoy the sunset. Mimi had an arm hooked around Shen's as she leaned against him as Naruto grinned widely.

"We made it," said Naruto.

"You sure did, kids," said Anko as she walked up behind them.

"So, you managed to get out," said Shen.

"Hey, I'm not a jounin for nothing," said Anko. "Well, you got her before sunset so I guess that means you three pass and are now officially genin!"

"YES!" Naruto cheered.

Mimi beamed and pecked Shen on the cheek, making him blush, but he had a smile of his own as well.

Anko's grin turned evil, "Of course that means that from this day onwards I own your asses!"

Naruto, Mimi and Shen sweatdropped.

"So? Who's hungry? Dinner's on me!" said Anko sweetly before leading the way.

"Shen?" Naruto began.

"Yes, Naruto?" Shen answered.

"Do you think we made a mistake in passing?" Naruto asked uncertainly.

Shen looked to Anko's retreating form and sighed. "I'm not so sure anymore…"

"Hey, guys! Don't be so glum! We passed and officially a team now here in Konoha!" said Mimi encouragingly. "And I'm starving so let's go!" She grabbed their hands and dragged them along.

* * *

At Ichiraku's, the team had ramen. Naruto had finished his 5th bowl already. Bae was flying about, congratulating them.

"Oh…I'm sorry I missed it!" said Bae.

"We'll give you the play-by-play later, Bae-chan," said Mimi.

"So, this little guy is like your mascot, huh?" asked Anko.

"Sure is," said Naruto. "And our eye in the sky."

Bae nodded and landed upon Mimi's shoulder. He'd nearly gotten himself swatted by people when they saw him so he was safer near Mimi. "Well, congrats on being a new genin team!"

"Yeah!" Naruto threw a fist in the air. "Team Geki rules!"

"Team Geki, huh? Nice name," grinned Anko. "So, want to tell me about those fancy jutsus you did?"

"In time, sensei," said Shen. "In time."

"So, what will tomorrow bring?" Bae asked Anko.

"Oh, D-Rank missions and maybe some lessons from me," said Anko, grinning wide and making the trio sweat nervously. "So, you better rest up, kids! I'm gonna make you three the toughest genin team in Konoha!"

* * *

Kamen Rider Chrome: A pretty short chap, but it introduces Anko as the new sensei of Team Geki. Well, next chap we'll have a time skip of a few weeks.


	5. Lesson 5: New Mission

Chapter 5: New Mission

A few weeks later…

"OK, nice kitty. Nice kitty. Let me take you back to your owner and…SWEET KAMI! HELP! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!"

Another day, another D-Rank assignment. The purpose of D-Rank Mission was to build teamwork among members of new genin teams. Of course it was a moot point for Team Geki since they were already a good team. However, it was procedure.

Shen and Mimi were waiting for Naruto to come out of the hole where they'd found Tora the cat. The Fire Damiyo's wife had hired them to find her cat and so that was what they were doing.

"Shouldn't we help him?" asked Mimi.

"He'll be fine," Shen said gruffly. "He's had worse. Besides, there is training in everything."

"Oh, he's coming out!" said Mimi.

Naruto crawled out of the hole, covered in scratches and bite marks, his clothes ruined. He was holding up Tora, which he'd tied up. "I…got him…" He glared at Shen.

"Nice job," Shen admitted.

"You could've helped me," said Naruto.

"If it was life threatening, I would," remarked Shen.

"Shen, this thing nearly killed me!" Naruto shouted.

"You're alive, aren't you?" Shen pointed out.

Mimi sighed. Shen was upset with Naruto. This morning, Mimi had made breakfast for all of them but while Shen was in the bathroom, Naruto ate Shen's share of food. So Shen hadn't had anything to eat and was grumpy.

"Good job, team," said Anko as she ate some dango.

"This better be worth it," spat Naruto.

"Personally, I think you guys' talents are being wasted on these D-Rank Missions," said Anko.

"But it's protocol and procedure," added Shen.

"That's right," said Anko.

For the last few weeks, the team had performed several D-Rank Missions. They had walked dogs, pulled out weeds from a garden, went to deliver packages, and even built and painted a picket fence.

It was driving Anko insane. She was a special jounin dammit! She didn't have time for this D-mission crap! She wanted the excitement of A-rank and even S-rank missions. Dango lessened the sting, but it could only satisfy her so much. Besides, she'd get fat if she ate enough dango to satisfy her completely.

"So what do you plan on doing about it?" asked Mimi.

"Well, after we turn in the cat here, we'll bug the Hokage for a better mission. Maybe I can get you guys instated as a special genin team or something if we're lucky," Anko grinned. "First, let's get this thing back to its owner."

"NYOW!!" Tora whined desperately as she struggled against the bonds.

"Something tells me that Tora here doesn't want to go back," said Shen. "How many times have we caught him up until now?"

"5 times," said Bae. "Once from a tree, then we found him in the forest, then we found him hiding in the bathroom, after that we found him hiding in the academy and today."

"Thanks for reminding me," muttered Naruto as he held the 'little monster'. "Come on, let's go see the old man!"

* * *

In the Hokage's office, the Fire Damiyo's wife took Tora from Naruto and hugged it so tight. Mimi and Shen were nearly sympathetic for the cat while Naruto watched with amusement as the 'little monster' got what it deserved.

"Good job," said Hokage. "You'll be receiving your payment soon. Now, for your next mission…"

"HOLD ON, OLD MAN!" shouted Anko and Naruto.

"What is it?" asked Sarutobi.

"OK, listen," said Anko. "I know that new genin teams have to do all these D-Rank assignment to build teamwork and all that junk, but these kids have been a team for a long time already. I've seen it. They got that teamwork bit in the bag."

"But they need to earn experience and…"

"I know that, but they're ready," Anko said firmly.

"That's right, Old Man!" shouted Naruto. "We deserve a higher rank assignment! I came back to be a ninja, not an odd-job kid!"

"Naruto's got a point," added Shen. "I fail to understand what painting fences and walking dogs have to do with being a ninja."

"That's right!" nodded Mimi. "I thought ninjas went on cool assignments like Naruto kept telling us back in SCRTC!"

"A ninja must be prepared to take on any assignment," said Sarutobi. Anko and Team Geki glowered at him. "But…I think I could give you a C-Rank assignment at least."

Anko was hoping for something like a B-Rank assignment, but a C-Rank one was at least a step higher and could be more challenging.

"OK, what is it?" asked Naruto.

"I got a request for ninjas to escort someone," said Sarutobi, reading the document.

"So, we'll be bodyguards, huh?" questioned Shen.

"That's right, and this is who you'll be guarding," said Sarutobi. He snapped his fingers and the door opened to reveal a young girl, their age, dressed as a miko with a white top and a pinkish red hakama. Her hair was brown and worn in a high ponytail. She had greenish eyes and looked cute. With her was an older gentleman dressed in a black top and hakama with a coat. He had hair on the sides, a small moustache and wore a monocle.

"A girl and an old man?" questioned Naruto.

"The man here is actually the head priest of a village in Metal Country and the girl is his daughter. She's also set to inherit his temple, but recently there have been…incidents," said Sarutobi.

"What kind of incidents?" asked Shen. The girl hid behind her father.

"Strange monsters made out of pure metal have been attacking people randomly, draining what little chakra they have out of them," the older man explained as he placed a comforting hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Several will be weak for weeks. Those who were unlucky enough have died."

"Egh," Naruto grimaced, thinking of vampires and the freaky nightmares he had concerning them.

"The people are terrified at the moment and so I called in support from the monks here in Fire Country, hoping that their skills would aid us. They went on ahead to take stock of the situation. I would have gone with them, but my daughter is not as spiritually powerful as myself or my associates yet and I fear for her safety."

"Say no more oji-san!" Mimi grinned. "We'll keep you both safe from anything and everything that crosses our path!"

"Ah, then we'll trust our safety to you," the man smiled warmly. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Sho Fukamachi. This is my daughter Reina."

"Um…hello." Reina waved.

"Well, I'm Naruto, this is Shen, this is Mimi and that crazy lady is our sensei, Anko," Naruto introduced.

WHAP!

"Ow!" Naruto clutched his head.

"Crazy lady, huh?" Anko glared.

"Well, you are," Naruto muttered.

* * *

Several weeks earlier…

_A tiger was circling around on the ground as it stared up at its prey. Said prey was actually three Konoha genin, clad in green, black and orange. They were hanging from a tree by ropes tied to their ankles._

"_Shen?" began Naruto._

"_Yes, Naruto?" Shen replied. _

"_I really, really, hate that crazy lady."_

"_Agreed."_

* * *

Naruto's Apartment…

"OK, I'm ready!" said Naruto who was carrying a huge backpack. Shen and Mimi stared at him suspiciously. "What?"

"That's filled with instant ramen, isn't it?" Shen asked.

"Hey! I can't go on a mission without my ramen!" Naruto defended.

Shen rolled his eyes. Mimi sighed as Bae poked his head out of her backpack.

"Well, he does have a point. We need essential items. This is your first C-Rank mission after all," said Bae.

"Essentials, like ration bars and weapons," said Shen. Naruto stuck his tongue out.

"Those ration bars taste like feet," said Naruto.

"When you want to stay alive, flavor should be the last thing on your mind," Shen reminded.

"OK, guys, stop arguing," said Mimi as she came between both boys. "We got a mission, so let's get to the gate!"

The trio made their way towards the gate where Anko, Sho and Reina were waiting. Reina was holding Sho's hand tightly.

"OK, Team Geki is here!" said Naruto.

"Finally!" Anko spat out a dango stick. "Come on! I cleared it with the guards at the gate already. Let's move, people!"

* * *

As they walked, Shen decided to ask, "Is there anything else you'd like to tell us about these strange assailants, Fukamachi-san?"

"It's odd," Sho frowned. "They are shaped like men, but seem to be made out of steel. They continually kidnap the healthiest people they can get their hands on. Of course, when they return those victims they're as pale as death and weak as babies. Chakra infusions seem to save them, but they still have a long road to recovery."

"So…nothing else?" asked Mimi.

"Well, one of our guards managed to wound one by chopping off its arm," Sho answered. "Black blood came out which smelled like something out of a smith forge and sparks as bright as stars came out. Whatever they are, those things are definitely not human."

"Sparks, and black blood," Naruto frowned. "Say, you don't think we're dealing with robots or something?"

"Ro-what?" asked Reina.

"Oh, machines made to move and look like people do. That's what those things sound like," Naruto explained to the young miko. "It kind of reminds me of this one school Jan-nii and the others fought. They called it MechKung Fu-URK!" Naruto's explanation was cut off when Shen yanked him face to face by the lapels, staring fiercely into the blonde's blue eyes.

"Do NOT mention that name around me," Shen warned in a dangerously low voice.

"Ah heh heh heh, right. Sorry. I forgot," Naruto chuckled weakly. Shen let him go.

"I'll go scout ahead," said Shen. He then ran ahead.

"Man, I keep forgetting Shen has issues with those guys," said Naruto.

"Naru-chan, you know why," said Mimi.

"Why was Shen so angry?" Anko asked. "All blondy did was mention some MechKung-something."

"It's personal," said Mimi.

* * *

Shen wanted to be along for a bit. He hated himself for snapping at Naruto like that, but the blond should know better than to mention that accursed school in his presence. The MechKung Fu had been the cause of his parents' death. During the Ki drain in Hong Kong, his parents had been weak and ill. What little Ki they had was stripped from them and Shen had been helpless to save them. He became an orphan and would've grown up alone without a family if Jan hadn't found him.

Deep down, Shen swore to avenge his parents, but the previous generation of GekiRangers had defeated the MechKung Fu. Shen gave it up so that he could be happy with his new friends and family, but these 'mysterious assailants' were so much like the MechKung Fu. Was it a coincidence? The people here didn't have the technology to make robots, or did they?

Shen looked over his shoulder to see the others catching up and sighed. He had a mission. As a genin of Konoha he was responsible for accomplishing any mission assigned to him.

* * *

"Here we are," Sho smiled as the troupe found themselves on a cliff overlooking a bustling village. "Our hometown."

"All right! Civilization!" Naruto grinned. "I was getting low on ramen! Yahoo!"

The trip to Metal Country was peaceful save for the odd bandit who thought they were the top guys on the anthill. Anko alone made them think twice. Along the way, the genin learned that Metal Country was named as such because of the natural ore which was easily found underneath the soil. Most of the country was involved in shipment, mining, refining, or forging the material. Sho's village was one of the few spots where the ore wasn't found and instead focused on farming among other things.

"Well, we did it," Mimi smiled. "Not bad for our first C-rank, was it Bae-chan?"

"Very peaceful," the Fly-ken user nodded with a smile.

"Boring," Anko muttered under her breath. She had been hoping to fight one of these so-called metal men herself, but it didn't seem to be happening. So much for a fun mission.

"Well, shall we go?" asked Shen, pointing down the path to where the village was. "Where's your home?"

Reina blushed as she gazed at Shen. Ever since she saw him she thought he was the most handsome boy, ever. He had a cool and serious air around him, mature, and also strong when he defended her from one of those bandits.

"Oh, it's in the centre of town," said Sho. "Come on, I'll take you there. You all must be tired and hungry."

"Among other things," said Mimi. "I think I need a bath."

* * *

The temple was huge. Even though the town was a farming community, the temple itself was polished and very well made. Shissa statures were at the entrance with a cherry blossom tree planted nearby. The rest of the temple was a traditional Shinto building which seemed to almost stretch on and on. Inside were numerous rooms where supporters could sit and pray or disciples could study the sacred texts. Despite the seriousness such a place promoted, it also felt relaxing. Still, just standing on the ground made Naruto's gut feel like it had a case of gas for some reason. It acted that way every time he stepped onto sacred grounds. Probably because of the fuzzball chained up in there.

There was also an onsen in the back of the temple. It used natural spring water filled with natural minerals that was good for the skin. There was a bamboo fence separating the men and women's side. Shen, Bae and Naruto were soaking in the men's side while Reina, Mimi and Anko were in the women's side.

"This is as good as the onsen at Konoha's bathhouse," said Anko as she sunk shoulder deep into the water.

"Tell me about it," said Mimi. "It feels like tiny fingers massaging my pores."

"Ano…" Reina began.

"Yes, Reina-chan?" Mimi replied.

"Thank you for escorting me and my father home."

"Hey, it's no problem!" said Mimi. "It's our mission."

"Well, I also have a question." Reina blushed.

"What about?"

"What can you tell me about Shen-san?" asked Reina.

In the men's side, Bae had a towel on his head as he floated between Shen and Naruto. Shen had apologized for snapping at Naruto earlier so everything was good between them.

"Hey, Shen, do you think we'll ever get to fight those robots?" Naruto asked.

"Actually, I'm quite eager to see if they are as powerful as I've heard," answered Shen. "Aside from Anko-sensei's training, we haven't had any challenging fights."

"Well, we'll be ready for them," said Naruto confidently as he stretched.

"And I'll commentate!" Bae said.

Back in the women's side…

"Huh?" Mimi blinked. "What do you want to know about Shen-sama?"

"Well…" Reina blushed. "He's just so…amazing. He's very mature, and kind and brave and oh…" She blushed harder.

"Seems like the little miko has a crush on our Black Lion," said Anko. Mimi winced.

"Black Lion?" questioned Reina.

"Oh, I'm just talking about his fighting style. A real predator that kid. Fierce and vicious too," described Anko.

"Wow…that makes him sound so amazing…" sighed Reina.

"Yes…he is," answered Mimi.

Back in the men's side…

Naruto had his ear pressed against the fence as Shen stared.

"What are you doing?" Shen asked. "If you're thinking of peeping then count me out. I happen to enjoy living."

"I just want to hear what the girls are saying," said Naruto.

"Hmph!" snorted Shen.

"Hey, they're talking about you," Naruto spoke.

"Naruto…"

"Hey, I'm telling the truth! Come here if you don't believe me!"

Shen rolled his eyes and swam over to where Naruto was, muttering, "Why am I even doing this?"

Back in the women's side…

"I'm actually expected to find a boy to marry soon," said Reina.

"But…you're like our age," said Mimi.

"Yes, but I need someone to be betrothed to," said Reina. "But…none of the boys here interest me."

Mimi didn't like where this was going. "And…so you like Shen?"

"Well, compared to him, the boys here act so childish and stupid. I want someone I can depend on, don't you?"

Mimi's eyebrow twitched, "Yes…I do."

"Well, you got competition, girl," said Anko. "That Shen kid's really popular back in Konoha!"

On their own side, Naruto wore a trademark foxy grin as he snickered at the conversation that he was listening to, "Wow Shen. Now you've got two girls after you! Lucky you!"

"Shut up," Shen frowned. "This is bad. Really bad."

"Ah, Reina-dono has unintentionally cast the gauntlet and now Mimi's preparing to take it."

"Oh man. Remember the last time a girl tried to hit on you?" Naruto chuckled. "Mimi went ballistic!"

"She went ballistic because that girl talked down to her and teased her about how much of a better woman she was," Shen sighed. "Reina-san doesn't know the connection Mimi and I share."

"Connection huh?" Naruto laughed. "So you and Mimi have been working on your relationship when I'm not around?"

Shen didn't answer and turned away. He'd always thought of Mimi as a good friend and comrade. However, recently, his feelings for her had been different. He noted how cute she was. She also knew what to say to cheer him up. Also, he liked having her around. Sure, she could be clingy and overly affectionate but Shen welcomed it on occasion. He really did like her, but he was afraid of what it might do to their friendship and team. Dating within the team was dangerous and not recommended. What would happen if it didn't work out? It could break up their perfect team.

However…

"Hey, Earth to Shen!" Naruto called. Shen got out of the onsen. "Hey, where are you going?"

"I'm done. I'm going to get dressed and look around the village," Shen told him as he headed back to the changing room.

Back on the women's side…

"So, does Shen-san have anyone he likes?" Reina asked.

Mimi wanted to yell out that Shen was her boyfriend but that was a lie. Sure, Shen was nice to her but sometimes Shen acted like she didn't exist when he was 'in-training mode'. He was always so serious and rarely smiled. Naruto helped him express himself but Shen was always cold and serious. She knew Shen cared about her like he cared about Naruto. They've been together for years, working together, and becoming a team. They were the next generation of GekiRangers.

Mimi knew that Shen found her affection annoying sometimes, but he also welcomed it at times too. Still, that was how Mimi expressed her feelings. Too bad Shen couldn't do the same.

Mimi wondered if Shen actually did like her at all and not just as a friend and comrade. She wanted more. Was that too much to ask?

* * *

Shen went out on a walk in the village, looking about and gathering information. He also needed to be alone for a bit and get his thoughts straight.

The villagers proved to be at least a little informative after he questioned a few of them. The metal people were just that, metal people. They looked like they were covered in bolted skin of some kind. They were strong too, much stronger than any regular human being. Several people attested to being hit by the strange creatures. As much as Shen didn't want to think about it, the style was certainly similar to MechKung Fu. However, the appearances made him believe that this was second generation practitioners. The first soldiers of MechKung Fu were obviously technologically adept since the machine men looked like actual robots. The descriptions he received made him think the builders only had limited knowledge and materials to work with.

"The movements and energy draining suggest MechKung Fu from what Jan-sensei told me," Shen muttered to himself. "But, the appearance is all wrong. None of these soldiers use a Beast Fist."

The sun was also coming down and it would be dark soon. Reina did say that dinner and rooms would be prepared for them. "Guess I could use something to eat." He then jogged back to the temple.

* * *

Somehow, Shen found himself seated between Mimi and Reina with Bae in Mimi's lap. Naruto was seated to Mimi's right. Across from them sat Sho and Anko.

"Itadakimasu!" said Naruto before he began eating. The food was excellent. Fresh rice, grilled beef, steamed fish and stir-fried vegetables. It wasn't ramen, but Naruto wasn't going to reject a free meal. He saw this as a reward for escorting the Fukamachis back to their home town.

Mimi wanted to feed Shen so she used her chopsticks to pick up some beef and held it up to Shen. "Here, Shen-sama."

"I can eat on my own you know," Shen commented from his bowl of rice. Mimi pouted in disappointment as she returned to her own meal.

"Shen-san, would you like some more beef?" Reina offered as she held up a plate of extra meat.

"Maybe later," Shen replied, continuing to eat. Reina sighed and placed the plate back onto the table. She didn't notice Mimi sending a happy, if not smug, smile at her. She may not have made progress, but neither did Reina.

"The kid has no idea how many boys would want to be him right now," Anko grinned from her sake. She hadn't missed the conversation in the onsen. "I guess it's better that way though."

"I suppose," Sho nodded. "Still, it's good to see Reina taking an interest in young men. I am not getting any younger and I hope to find a good match for her. Shen seems to be meeting my expectations."

"So you're going to meddle?" Anko snickered. This was getting like those dramas Kurenai so loved to watch.

"Perhaps if you would stay a few more days?" asked Sho innocently.

"Really? Can we?" Naruto asked hopefully. It wasn't everyday they got to venture out of the village. Reina smiled. That meant she had more time to spend with Shen.

"You are guests, and your mission isn't complete yet. You still have those metal men to take care of," said Sho.

"We'll see," said Anko.

* * *

Anko had her own room while Team Geki were sharing a room. They had changed into sleeping yukatas and had a futon each.

"Well, goodnight, guys," said Naruto as he slipped into his futon. As soon as his head hit the pillow he was fast asleep.

Shen got into his futon as well. He needed to rest after the long walk all the way here. Mimi looked to Shen and knelt down, whispering, "Goodnight, Shen-sama." She then slipped into her futon.


	6. Lesson 6: The MechKung Fu Menace

Chapter 6: The MechKung Fu Menace

There was a sudden scream that caused Team Geki to jump out of their futons in surprise. Not even changing from their yukatas, the three JyuKen fighters charged to the source of the disturbance. Dashing through the halls, they burst through the doors to the main meditation chambers where disciples would reflect upon their lessons.

There was no time for reflection at this point.

The disciples were being brutalized by what appeared to be actual robots. They looked like they had male physique, but all of the skin was bolted on in sections. The faces had red light eyes surrounded by metal rings and a small grate that was in fact a speaker doubled as a mouth. Bolts were on the machines' knuckles and steam vents were on the shoulders. All of the mechanical monsters were attacking the disciples, stunning them before attempting to carry them out the door.

"I don't think so!" Shen growled as he leaped forward. "_Gekiwaza! Shi Shi Dan!_"

Sending out a blast of Geki, Shen's attack collided with several of the mechanical soldiers. All of them went down in sprays of sparks. One unfortunate creation was torn in half since it was in direct path of the black lion.

"And Shen begins the fight with his Shi Shi Dan!" Bae commentated.

Mimi and Naruto rushed into action, using their GekiJyuKen skills to take out as many of the robots as they possibly could while the disciples fled, carrying their wounded. They weren't fighters so they couldn't help Team Geki even if they tried.

Naruto knocked the head off one of the robots and used a roundhouse kick to send one crashing into a wall. Mimi jumped at one, striking it with a snap kick in the chest that sent it crashing to the floor. They tried to tackle her but at the last minute she went invisible.

Shen was the most brutal as his fists went through their chests and he pulled out wires and circuitry within his clenched fists. He gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes in hate and anger at these machines.

The robots themselves seemed to be becoming more formidable as one got Naruto in the stomach and then tossed him into the wall. Mimi got punched in the face as well and sent tumbling.

Shen ordered as he held one of the robots back, "Transform now! Beast On!" He transformed into GekiBlack.

Mimi and Naruto nodded and called out, "Beast On!" thus activating their GekiChangers.

GekiOrange and GekiGreen jumped up and slammed their feet into the head of the robot GekiBlack was fighting.

"OK, who wants some?" challenged GekiOrange.

"The GekiRangers now take the stage!" Bae cheered.

With a roar, GekiBlack surged forward ferociously. GekiOrange and GekiGreen were close behind as they attacked the remaining machines which were invading the home of their employers. Sparks, metal, and energy flew in all directions as the last of the machines were destroyed, their parts littering the ground. In the centre of it all, the three GekiRangers were standing with their backs to each other, panting.

"That…was…intense," GekiOrange gasped.

"You…said it," GekiGreen agreed.

"There's…no denying it," GekiBlack growled and gasped at the same time. "The fighting style is the exact same as Jan-sensei and the others told us about. The machines and the style fit it exactly. This is MechKung Fu!"

"Astute observation."

The three Gekirangers turned to see who had spoken. It turned out to be a man wearing a gi of a martial artist. His hands were wrapped in bandages and a headband kept his hair out of his eyes. However, the smirk on his face seemed…false, somehow.

"Who the heck are you?" demanded GekiOrange.

"I think politeness warrants you to introduce yourselves first," the man replied calmly.

"Mischief is my style! The trickster with a hundred ways of winning," GekiOrange introduced as he took his battle stance. "Unlimited Cunning! GekiOrange!"

"The King of Beasts, powerful and noble." GekiBlack called as he flexed his arms and prepared for a fight. "Unyielding Power! GekiBlack!"

"Walking the road of life, adapting to any challenge I face," GekiGreen finished. "Wise Instincts! GekiGreen!"

Finally, al three let off a unified cry, "JyuKen is the fist of Justice! Konoha Jyuken Sentai! GekiRangers!"

"Impressive. Well, to introduce myself, I am a man seeking perfection," the man answered. "And the people from this shrine were going to become my food. However, it seems I found three tasty morsels instead. GekiJyuKen fighters if I don't miss my guess."

"Oh, you think so huh?" Gekigreen snorted. "What makes you so special then?"

"Heh. Allow me to show you," the man smirked. He flexed his arms, making bulging muscles appear as if they were metal cables. "_MechKung Fu! Kikai Hito Henka!_"

The man's appearance then seemed to melt into molten steel as his energy flared. The mass of steel then shifted and transformed into a new body. The arms were in fact made of metal cords with steel gauntlets ending in wrecking ball-like fists. The chest was broad, but looked sort of like a kangaroo head in a way. The legs were made of the same steel cable with metal boots for feet. The face looked like a helmet much like a fighter pilot would wear with a breathing apparatus on the front.

"_Allow me to introduce myself,_" the machine-man chuckled with a static voice. "_I am a student of the MechKung Fu and I use Kangaroo-ken. I go by, Boxor._"

GekiOrange and GekiGreen stared at the mechanical kangaroo oddly.

"Seriously? A kangaroo?" quipped GekiOrange.

"No taste," GekiGreen agreed.

"_How dare you!!!_" Boxor roared and he rushed at them. The Rangers leapt out of the way as his fist came down, destroying a portion of the floor with the explosive force of his punch.

"OK, so he's tough," said GekiOrange as the three of them regrouped.

That was when Anko made her presence known. "How are you kids doing?" She wasn't surprised to see them in their suits. She'd seen them don them a few weeks back when they explained to her about GekiJyuKen.

"And where were you?" asked GekiGreen.

"I was getting our clients to safety." She looked around the hall and at the mechanical parts littering the floor. "By the way, it looked like you three had fun."

"Hardly," snorted GekiBlack.

"So, that's the boss, huh?" Anko said as she looked towards Boxor.

"Yes, and a MechKung Fu user," growled GekiBlack.

"MechKung Fu?" questioned Anko.

"While JyuKen like ours is based on improvement through training, MechKung Fu users improve themselves through artificial and mechanical alterations," explained GekiGreen.

"_Right you are_," boasted Boxor, "_But to do that we must gain more power._"

"You're just a vampire," growled GekiBlack. "You've been siphoning chakra from these people so you can become stronger."

"_Nothing is gained without sacrifice_," said Boxor as he bumped his huge fists together. "_Now…I suggest you DIE!!!_" He charged at the Rangers. "_MechKung Fu! Kangaroo-Ken! Roketto Genko!_"

Rearing back his fist, Boxor punched forward. As he reached the full reach of his arm, panels opened near his elbow and rockets fired off, adding more force and speed to the punch. Even more strange, the steel cable which made up his arm stretched forward!

"Look out!" GekiOrange cried as he and his teammates dodged the ridiculously fast punch. The attack instead hit the wall, and witnesses who were outside would later swear a bomb went off since the wall was suddenly blown out in chunks of mortar and splinters of wood.

"This guy means business!" GeiGreen gasped as she got to her feet.

"You think?" commented GekiOrange. "The rocket punch of doom wasn't a big enough clue?"

"We need to take him down and room to do it!" GekiBlack shouted.

"I got it!" GekiOrange shouted. He turned to Boxor, "Hey, ugly! Come and get us!" He turned around and slapped his butt. "Come on! Come and get us!"

That got Boxor mad enough to give chase as the GekiRangers ran out of the temple with their opponent close behind.

"Naruto, Mimi, you guys hide and then take him by surprise when I give you the signal," said GekiBlack.

"Got it!" GekiGreen and GekiOrange nodded before the former turned invisible and the latter phased underground.

"Hey, what about me?" asked Anko, grinning with a kunai in hand.

"Sensei?" GekiBlack blinked. She was running alongside him.

"I may not know this Beast Fist stuff, but I can still fight! No way am I standing on the sidelines. Plus, you're my student and as your sensei I gotta protect you."

GekiBlack gave a nod and skidded to a stop with Anko by his side, taking fighting stances as Boxor went to beat them to the ground.

"_MechKung Fu! Kikai Teppo Genko!_" the machine man roared as he unleashed another one of his techniques. This time, hidden hydraulics in the arms activated, making Boxor's punching speed increase, thus increasing the number of punches.

"Too slow jerkwad!" Anko laughed as she and GekiBlack rolled around the blows, but not before getting dealt some glancing hits. Whipping out a kunai, Anko dove at the machine man and dug the weapon into a slit between the neck joint and shoulder. "Now you die for it!"

However, Anko didn't feel the kunai hit flesh. She only felt it scrape against more steel and make some grinding noises from within. Stunned by the lack of lethal reactions, Boxor retaliated by punching backwards, catching her in the face and knocking her backwards.

"Anko-sensei!" GekiBlack cried, running to his sensei. Checking her over, he found her nose it be in a bad angle and blood leaking down her face. She seemed dazed, but then her senses returned remarkably fast as she got pissed.

"What the HELL?!" she raged, struggling back to her feet. "I got him in a soft spot! There's no way he could just shrug that off!"

"MechKung Fu practitioners are generally more machine than man," GekiBlack frowned as he eyed the approaching Boxor. "I doubt there's much flesh left in him beyond a few vital organs."

Anko took in the information. A machine man, huh? As if her day couldn't get any weirder.

"Now!" GekiBlack shouted, giving the signal. Instantly, GekiOrange shot out of the ground.

"_Gekiwaza! Kitsune Bunshin_!" called out GekiOrange as smoke exploded around him to form his army of clones. "DOG PILE!"

The instant Boxor saw the clones coming down on him, he used another technique of his. "_Roketto Genko!_" The shockwave alone almost knocked Anko and GekiBlack off their feet. All of the GekiOrange clones were sent flying as they poofed out of existence.

"Ow," GekiOrange groaned as he hit the ground, his clones poofing out around him. "He packs a meaner punch than I thought."

Boxor snarled as he got back up to his feet, "_You three are more trouble than you're worth. I'll destroy you all-huh?_" The machine man turned as he felt a presence behind him somewhere.

"Midori Midori Dan!" A chameleon made of Geki flew out of nowhere and struck Boxor from behind.

"Nobody hurts my friends!" declared GekiGreen as she faded back into visibility.

Boxor used a backhand on her but she vanished before he could hit her. She then regrouped with the others.

"Looks like we have to bring out our gear," said GekiOrange.

"You said it, Naru-chan," said GekiGreen. "Geki Sais!" She summoned a pair of sais in hand."

"Geki Whip!" GekiOrange summoned and cracked a whip.

"Geki Knuckles!" called out GekiBlack as the knuckle dusters equipped themselves over his hands. "IKUZE!"

The three charged at Boxor. GekiOrange lashed his whip at Boxor, causing sparks to fly as the weapon made contact. Boxor shouted in pain as he was hit. Then, GekiGreen and GekiBlack struck him at close ranged. A punch from GekiBlack smashed into his face and GekiGreen stabbed her sais into his chest before withdrawing them and jumping up to deal a double-footed kick into his chest, sending him stumbling back. GekiOrange lashed out his whip again, lassoing it around the Kangaroo-Ken's users feet and with a tug pulled him to the ground.

Anko has to smirk as she saw her team working together. Not many genin knew how to work this well together the instant they went out on the field. It made her proud to be their sensei. Of course, that didn't mean she was going to stand idly by and watch. She was Anko Mitarashi, former apprentice of Orochimaru, and the craziest Kunoichi in Konoha.

Plus, she needed to pay this freak back for her nose. Smirking, she dashed towards the fight, throwing several shuriken at the machine man. The weapons bounced off harmlessly, but the ones aimed at the eyes stunned even the metal man, considering his still human reflexes.

"These guys have ANY weaknesses?" the irate special jounin asked.

"Well, they can't produce their own energy," GekiGreen answered. "Not enough meat in them I guess. That's why they have to steal it from everyone around them. We can easily outlast him if he keeps throwing big moves around."

"Problem is that he's been draining people dry for who knows how long," GekiOrange frowned as he got some breathing space. "We don't know how much power he has."

"So basically he's running on one big chakra battery," Anko frowned.

"Pretty much," shrugged GekiBlack. "The only way we can think of beating him is waiting for him to run out of energy. Of course, we don't know how much energy he has left or how long we'll have to wait…or how much we can last."

"Then you have to take that battery of his out then," said Anko.

"Question is; where is it?"

"Well, why not his torso?" asked GekiOrange, earning looks from his teacher and friends. "I mean, his body still works like a human's right? Then the source has to be there since humans create chakra and Geki from the torso, right?"

"…I don't know if I should be impressed he thought of that or disappointed that I didn't," GekiBlack grumbled.

"Hey!"

"OK," nodded GekiBlack. "We got a target, but we gotta get in close before he powers up one of his MechKung Fu moves!"

"That's where I'll come in," grinned Anko sadistically. She threw her arms forward and snakes shot out of her sleeves. They slithered along the ground and then jumped at the Kangaroo-Ken user.

"Get off me!" shouted Boxor as he tried to shake the snakes off.

"Go, I gave you the distraction," said Anko.

"Arigatou, sensei," said GekiGreen. The three Rangers then dashed towards Boxor as Anko stood back and watched.

GekiOrange made the first move. He lashed out with his whip and with a swing of his arm tied it tightly around Boxor's neck. The mechanical kangaroo-man tried to pull the whip off but that just made the orange Ranger pull tighter, squeezing his enemy's throat. GekiGreen suddenly appeared out of nowhere and stabbed her kunai into Boxor's feet, pinning him to the ground as he howled in rage and pain. He couldn't move as he tried to pull his feet off the ground. The whip, snakes and sais in his feet were definitely causing him plenty of discomfort.

That was when GekiBlack decided to finish off the Kangaroo-Ken user.

"This is for my parents," growled Shen. "_Gekiwaza! Shishi Shoda!_" Geki collected in his right fist in the form of a lion's head. He then dashed towards the immobilized MechKung Fu user. He drew his empowered fist back and then smashed it right through Boxor's chest, crushing his internal power core. Boxor grunted from the hit and GekiBlack looked Boxor in the eye before saying, "Go back to hell, vampire!" He withdrew his fist and jumped off Boxor as the energy inside him started to go out of control. This resulted in the Kangaroo-Ken user exploding in a furious blaze as his body was destroyed in the process.

The Rangers stood side-by-side and then banished their suits. They had won.

"Yatta!" Naruto cheered. He slapped Shen on the back. "We did it, Shen!"

"Oh, Shen-sama!" Mimi wrapped her arms around his neck. "Was that the new Gekiwaza you've been working on? It was amazing!"

Shen let out a grunt and a smirk. He may have lost his family, but had gained a new one the day he accepted Jan's invitation. He would definitely protect his new family.

"Not bad, brats," said Anko as she approached the three. "Not bad at all. You three are mad out of some really tough stuff."

"We've had a lot of different teachers." Shen answered. "Even if their training was unusual, it helped us to adapt to any situation."

"Anko-sensei, we should treat your wounds," said Mimi.

"Hey, I've had worse!" snorted Anko but it hurt just doing that.

"Anko…Sensei…" Mimi glowered as a sickly green aura radiated off her. Shen and Naruto shivered.

"Anko-sensei, for your own good, just let her take care of your wound!" reasoned Naruto. Shen nodded.

* * *

"Must you go, Shen-san?" Reina asked, frowning sadly as Anko and Team Geki prepared to leave.

"Our mission is done here," said Shen. "We've dealt with the threat here and saved the village. No reason to stick around."

"Oh. OK." Reina looked sadly to the ground. She tried to be hopeful, "Maybe you could come visit some time?"

"Maybe," shrugged Shen. "But a ninja's life is a busy one. I'll try and come whenever I can."

"OK!" Reina hopped over and kissed his cheek, causing Shen to blush, Mimi to scowl, and Naruto, Anko and Bae to watch in amusement.

"OK, let's go!" Mimi announced loudly as she grabbed Shen by the arm and dragged him along. "Time to get back to Konoha and give a report."

As the group left, Reina waved at them. "Oh, Shen-sama, I do hope you return…"

* * *

"Aren't you going to say anything?" Shen asked Mimi. She'd let him go but wasn't talking to him.

"Hmph!" she scoffed as she looked ahead.

Shen sighed. He just couldn't understand women, especially Mimi. Usually, she'd be talking to him but the green girl had been giving him the cold shoulder the entire way.

"Hey, she'll cool down," said Anko. "She's just miffed about that smooch Reina-chan gave ya."

"I didn't want it," Shen sad defensively.

"Well, you didn't exactly stop her," Anko pointed out.

Bae spoke, "A maiden's heart is a tender thing, Shen."

"Mimi? Tender?" Naruto cocked an eyebrow. "Since when?"

Mimi, however, heard him and whirled around to glare at him.

"Oh, crap," Naruto gaped and yowled in pain as she stomped on his foot, hard, before stomping away. Naruto bounced on one foot, yelping in pain, causing Anko to laugh.

"You kids really surprised me," said Anko. "I mean at first I thought you were a bunch of rookies who just graduated out of the Academy. Now I see you have a lot of firepower and surprises."

"Naturally!" said Bae. "These three have trained themselves to be the best!"

"Still not as good as Shinji-sempai, though," said Shen.

"Who?" Anko asked.

"Oh, just our senior, Shinji Ikari. He's awesome! Not only did he master Wolf-Ken, but he mastered Bat-Ken, Elephant-Ken and Shark-Ken!" said Naruto.

"He was also to be our team leader, but he got called away for some urgent business," added Shen.

"I wonder what he's doing now," said Naruto.

"Knowing him, he just might be saving the world somewhere," said Mimi.

* * *

"It's good to be back!" said Naruto as he dropped his backpack in the living room of his apartment. They had reported to the Hokage that the mission was a success and had given the 3rd the full report of what happened. Sarutobi was alarmed but when he heard about how the three GekiJyuKen Genin were able to handle the threat, he couldn't help but be proud of them. They were indeed a surprising bunch.

"Yes," agreed Shen. He was tired of walking and needed to put his feet up. Mimi was still ignoring him though. As intelligent as he was, girls were still a mystery to him.

"I'm going to go see if Hinata-chan's around," said Mimi. "Don't wait up!" And she was out the door. "Come on, Bae-chan!"

"Coming, Mimi-chan!" the fly flew after her.

"She's still mad at you, huh?" Naruto asked.

"Looks like it. How long do I have to wait till she cools down?" asked Shen.

"Don't ask me, my friend. I'm like you when it comes to girls," said Naruto.

"Great…" muttered Shen.

"But she'll forgive you, eventually, I think…" said Naruto uncertainly.

"Thank you for the vote of confidence," said Shen sarcastically.

* * *

Mimi whistled as he walked along the streets of Konoha, ignoring the glares she was getting from the villagers. It was all because she was friends with Naruto and an outsider to boot. She didn't care, though. If they tried anything she would defend herself. She wasn't going to hurt anyone, just scare them off.

"Now, where is Hinata-chan," said Mimi as she looked around for her friend and then spotted the girl with her teammates. They were walking dogs, which probably meant either Kiba had talked them into helping with his chores at the Inuzuka kennels or they were on a D-Rank mission. "Oi! Hinata-chan!"

"Mimi-chan!" the grey-eyed girl smiled and waved back at the green-clad girl. Mimi ran over to her friend. She was the only kunoichi who was friends with her. For Hinata, Mimi was one of the few people she didn't seem to stutter around or get extremely nervous with. Only Kurenai could really boast that, although Kiba and Shino were slowly getting their names on that list as well.

"Hey, Kiba! Shino!" Mimi greeted Hinata's teammates. "Mind if I borrow Hinata-chan for a bit?"

"Just don't take too long," said Kiba. Akamaru barked.

"Thanks!" Mimi beamed.

* * *

Naruto and Shen were in one of the training grounds, sparing. The two were glowing with Geki. Naruto's Geki was orange while Shen's was black and gold. They then rushed at each other, their limbs becoming blurs as they traded blows. Naruto ducked under a roundhouse kick and slammed an open palm into Shen's chest but his friend/rival grabbed his wrist and twisted, sending Naruto spinning and to the ground. Naruto caught himself with his feet and then flipped his body forward, tossing Shen over him. Shen landed on the ground in front of Naruto and got into an offensive stance again as did Naruto.

Before they could continue, they heard ecstatic applause. The two GekiJyuKen practitioners stopped and turned to see the strangest sight they had ever seen. Standing before them, clapping was a boy in a green spandex bodysuit with orange leg warmed and bandages wrapped around his forearms and fists. He wore the hitai-ite as a belt. He also had round beady eyes, with thick eyebrows and a bowl cut. Applauding along with him was a man who he resembled, wearing the same spandex suit and leg warmers, but with a Jounin vest.

"That was amazing!" said the young bowl-cut. "Gai-sensei, that was amazing, was it not?"

"Yes, indeed it was, Lee!" Gai agreed, "A spectacular and fiery display of YOUTH!"

Naruto and Shen were starting to get a bit creeped out. Shen, however, recovered quickly, "Um…excuse me, but who are you two?" asked Shen.

"Oh, my apologies," said Gai. "I am Maito Gai, and this young man here is my prized student, Rock Lee!"

Leo put a fist against his palm and bowed, "Pleased to meet you both." Naruto returned the greeting as fellow martial artists. While Lee and his sensei looked goofy, Shen was aware that the two possessed great skills in the martial arts.

"Well, I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and this here is my best buddy, Shen Long!" Naruto introduced.

"Pleased to meet your acquaintances, Lee-san and Gai-san," Shen greeted. "So, what brings you here?"

"Well, Lee and I were just finishing our jog and were about to spar when we saw you both. We just couldn't look away!" said Gai.

"Indeed! And like Gai-sensei said it was a spectacular and fiery display of YOUTH!"

"YES, THEY BOTH POSSESS THE SPIRIT OF YOUTH!"

"INVINCIBLE AND INDOMITABLE YOUTH!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

Naruto and Shen would both be subjugated to the most disturbing Genjutsu ever created in Konoha history. A beach materialized, with crashing waves and a setting sun, as Lee and Gai continued to call out to each other, running towards each other, before engulfing each other in a 'manly' hug.

Shen's left eyebrow twitched while Naruto wished he could wash his eyes and brain.

* * *

At a dango shop, Mimi was regaling Hinata of tales of their previous mission. Apparently Shino and Hinata were just helping Kiba out with his chores since his mother and older sister were busy for the day and wouldn't notice that he had help.

"Wow!" said Hinata amazed after hearing the tale of Mim's first mission outside the village, "Your mission was upped to a B-Rank?"

"That's right, and all because of a few robots and a kangaroo," nodded Mimi.

"So, what else happened?" Hinata asked.

"Well, a girl was hitting on Shen-sama," Mimi frowned.

"Oh," Hinata realized. "So, did Shen-san reciprocate?"

"I don't think he did, but he didn't do much to stop her," Mimi answered.

"How long will you stay mad at him?" asked Hinata.

"Maybe a day or two. I don't wanna mess up the team," said Mimi.

"How considerate, Mimi-chan!" smiled Bae.

"So, how about you and a certain blond?" teased Mimi. Hinata blushed. "How do you plan on making your move?"

* * *

Naruto and Shen recovered from the Genjutsu, but the image would haunt them forever.

"Shen-san! Naruto-san!" Lee said excitedly, "Please, spar with me so I may test my mettle against you!"

Shen and Naruto exchanged looks. "A spar, huh?" Naruto grinned. "OK…" He was pulled back by Shen. "Huh?"

"Naruto, let me," Shen volunteered. He looked to Lee. "Alright, Lee-san. You and me, one on one, Taijutsu only."

Lee's grin widened to the point it was going to split his face. "Alright! I accept!"

"YES LEE! SHOW THEM YOUR FLAMES OF YOUTH!" cheered Gai.

"YES, GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"Can't you just start already!" screamed Naruto, not wanting to see 'it' happen again. It was freaky enough the first time. He didn't want to have to suffer through the trauma a second time.

Lee nodded and bowed to Shen who bowed back. They got into their stances. Shen observed Lee. The bowl-cut boy had a steady stance with no openings in his defenses. Shen smirked. This was going to be interesting.

* * *

"So, Kakashi and his team are having trouble in Wave, huh?" Anko said as she read the letter sent by Pakkun.

"Yes," nodded Sarutobi, "And I want you and your team to help them."

Anko had read the letter. There was mention of Zabuza, the Demon of the Mist, and also that he'd been taken by a fake Hunter-Nin. Then there was the trouble in Wave caused by Gato who was sucking the village dry in order to fill his pockets. He was even stopping them from building a bridge that would free them from him.

"And I was hoping for a soak in the hot spring," said Anko. "OK, tell you what, Hokage-sama. I'll bring your team along, but I want Kurenai and her brats to come as well."

Sarutobi frowned. "They are still inexperienced Genin."

"Maybe, but 'Nai-chan's the best damn Genjutsu user in the whole village. Not to mention she's got an Aburame, an Inuzuka, and a Hyuuga on her team. If Zabuza really is involved then we're dealing with an expert at the art of silent killing. Her team will be able to cover us from all sides," Anko explained. "Besides, her brats have to have gotten enough experience to go on a lengthy mission like this and I doubt that their families will argue too much about it. Clan politics and that."

Sarutobi had to concede that fact. Except for a few cases, Inuzukas were loud, brash, and generally impatient. Most likely Tsume Inuzuka would see this as a grand opportunity to get her son some real world experience. The Hyuugas would most likely wish for Hinata to do the same. Either to toughen her up and give her some spine for those who wished well…or get her killed off so her 'more competent' sister Hanabi could take the reins. Finally the Aburame clan would see the logic in Anko's choice and accept. Normally the clans would argue against it, but with Kurenai, Anko, and Kakashi there, it would set a fair few fears to rest.

"Very well, I will consider your request. Be prepared to leave tomorrow," said Sarutobi.

* * *

Gai and Naruto watched as Lee and Shen traded blows. Lee was definitely keeping up with Shen in both power and speed. It was an interesting match to watch and Naruto could've sworn he saw Lee grinning.

"Lee's got a lot of stamina," commented Naruto.

"That's the result of a lot of hard work and training!" answered Gai, "I'm so proud of him!" He was getting teary eyed.

Naruto murmured about Gai being more emotional than a certain elephant and shark.

* * *

Kamen Rider Chrome: Looks like two teams are headed to Wave to help Kakashi and Team 7. Mimi is definitely looking to play matchmaker here. Well, let's see what happens next.


	7. Lesson 7: Off to Wave!

Chapter 7: Off To Wave!

"He's fast," admitted Naruto in wonderment. Lee had shrugged off one of Shen's punches quickly and was raining blows upon blows on his black clad opponent. Unless one had their eyes trained for it, all they would really be seeing would be blurs of black and green…with the green blur moving somewhat faster than the black one. It certainly impressed Naruto, for he knew that Shen was the fastest out of their team and seeing the green-clad boy moving even faster was a surprise. "_Really_ fast."

"Yes, and that speed didn't come naturally to him," said Gai. "While there are geniuses with natural talent, Lee is a genius of hard work."

Naruto nodded. Hard work was the only way a person could excel. Having raw talent was not enough. It required both skill and hard work to become a master. His old teachers were certainly proof of that. Two of his teachers, Ran and Retsu were certainly filled with natural talent, but master Sha-Fu worked them to the bone to make sure they mastered their techniques. On the other hand, Jan worked hard and always did his best and even though it took considerable teaching time and long hours of practice, he managed to catch up to his teammates despite having started learning GekiJyuKen much later. It was one of the flaws that modern teachers tended to forget sometimes according to Sha-Fu and the other Kensei. When they see a student who can perform the technique flawlessly thanks to their natural talent, they assume the student has mastered it and doesn't need any more training in it. In truth, the student has only proved capable of using the technique in controlled conditions. In real-life situations that may not be true and thus needs enough training so they can perform the technique at any time and recognize when the technique should be used. That was true mastery.

Naruto heard an imaginary triangle chiming when he thought that.

Shen wasn't using any of his Gekiwaza, as tempted as he was. However, Lee was not an enemy. He was a fellow Konoha-nin. Gekiwaza was only meant for enemies, although Naruto had once goaded him into launching a Shishi Dan. He wasn't proud of himself for doing that and neither were any of his teachers. Jan-sensei was especially disappointed since he above the others promoted harmony and good feelings between teammates.

Naruto watched Lee's movements. The moves looked like a mix of several martial arts forms, but at the same time they were all used in a style on their own. Naruto faintly recognized it as a style used by a guy academy students called hot-blooded when he was little. It was definitely something academy students didn't learn. Deciding that he had seen enough of Lee excelling, Naruto lent a hand in his own way, "Shen, dance!"

"Dance?" Gai cocked an eyebrow.

"Dance?" Shen wondered, ducking under a kick. "Dance!" he realized

In SCRTC there was a dance class taught by Miki Misaki's daughter, Natsume. It was how his teacher Retsu was able to defeat that Gecko-ken user, Moriya, while they were fighting on the side of the building with gravity being his enemy. At first Naruto had dismissed it as he was still young at the time, but after Retsu managed to defeat him using nothing but dance moves modified for fighting, he became much more serious. It certainly helped when he began his training under Bat Li.

Shen then began to move like he was dancing and indeed he was. He imagined the music and let the rhythm flow through his body.

* * *

"Yo, Green Girl!" Anko yelled as she saw Mimi and Hinata at her favorite dango shop. With Anko was Kurenai. After receiving notice from the Hokage concerning her new mission, Anko went straight to find her best friend. Kurenai had already gotten the notice and was heading to get her pack ready before she told her team so she could prepare the necessary documentation while her team prepared. The Genjutsu specialist was not pleased by the mission and did not believe her team was completely ready, but it was the Hokage's orders and no doubt many of the council were pushing for it, no doubt for political or personal reasons.

"Oh, Anko-sensei!" Mimi greeted back. "Take a seat and have some dango!"

"Sure, kid," said Anko. She was surprised to see that Mimi was friends with Hinata. In her opinion the Hyuuga girl needed a lot of female friends and friends aside her teammates. Hiashi Hyuga's status be damned, the man was a king prick who treated his daughter like crap. How Hinata's little sister flourished under such treatment not even Anko could tell…and she had suffered under Orochimaru himself! Of course, it was funny to see such a timid girl being friends with an outgoing girl like Mimi.

Bae was on Mimi's shoulder, having some dango as well. The man who ran the stand was certainly surprised to find was real and not some kind of odd toy, and even more shocked when he asked for some dango of his own, but money was money, especially since ninjas had the money to pay for it. So, the owner made the smallest batch of dango ever and gave a full set to the fly-man.

Kurenai and Anko sat with their female students and Hinata asked, "I-Is there something you wished to speak to us about?"

"Actually, there is," nodded Anko slumping into one of the available seats, "You see, Team 7 is in need of backup and we're going to go to Wave to provide that backup!"

"Really?" Mimi's eyes widened. Another mission and so soon? Well, knowing Naruto, the blond would be ready for another mission in an instant. Still, she was hoping to get at least a little bit of personal time with Shen before the next one. A girl needed her romantic time with her man after all! "What rank?"

"A-rank," answered Anko.

"Anko, I don't know about this," said Kurenai uncertainly. While she was impressed by Anko's story of how her team managed to beat that MechKung Fu user, she still had doubts that they could handle another A-rank mission, especially one where Zabuza was involved.

"Hey, the kids need experience and so do yours. A little danger will be good for them," said Anko grinning. Anko then asked, "Say, where's emo-boy and blondie?"

* * *

Shen panted and lay on the ground with Lee opposite him. The fight had been long and hard with neither of the Genin remembering when they had been so pushed before outside of sparring with their teachers. Despite how battered and bruised they both were, both were feeling quite invigorated and both were managing to grin despite how much pain they were in. "You have…an amazing…flame of…youth…Shen-san," said Lee.

"You're…not…so bad…yourself," said Shen as he struggled to breathe.

Off on the sidelines, Naruto and Gai were watching with vested interest, for obvious reasons. The Taijutsu specialist was grinning broadly, absolutely delighted with the sight of two such youthful specimens of the new generation proving their worth on the field of battle. It was enough to make him cry manly tears of joy as he applauded the two martial artists for their spectacular performance, "Amazing! Not many can last long against Lee like that."

"Hey, when Shen gets going, not much can stop him I can tell you that much," said Naruto, speaking from experience. He had to fight Shen several times since meeting the Lion-ken user and every time was difficult and taxed even his own considerable stamina. Shen knew how to draw out a fight, that much was for sure.

As Naruto and Gai watched Lee and Shen recover slowly from the spar, a small group approached them from the path which would lead to the training field. They were none other than Anko and Kurenai along with Mimi and Hinata. All of them were quick to notice Lee and Shen on the ground, completely wiped from their spar. It of course caused Kurenai's eyebrow to rise in curiosity. Gai was of course extraordinarily proud of how his team was progressing in their fields of training and made sure to mention it at least once when the Jounin would get together at one of the local watering holes. Lee of course was his greatest pride in that the young man took so much after him. Seeing how tuckered out the boy was against Anko's student was certainly a surprise. Anko of course just began grinning smugly with pride.

"Shen-sama! Naru-chan!" Mimi shouted as he ran towards them.

"Hey, Mimi-chan!" Naruto waved. Mimi ran past him and knelt down next to Shen. "Huh?"

"Shen-san, are you okay?" Mimi asked, looking extremely worried about her one true love. She had never seen him this tired outside a spar with one of their teachers before!

"Just tired…" said Shen. Mimi looked to the boy in green spandex. She raised an eyebrow at his odd choice of clothing before she glanced back to see Gai and Naruto. Seeing both the man behind her and the boy in front of her, she had to wonder if the two weren't related in some way.

"Oh, Anko-san and Kurenai-san!" Gai said, noting the presence of the kunoichi, still beaming with his sparkling teeth.

"Hey, Gai," Anko winked. "So, your student was playing with one of my students, huh?"

"Yes, and I must say I am impressed," said Gai, his voice booming as usual. "Seeing such an explosive example of youth set my spirit ablaze with pride for my adorable student Lee! Why, were I not needing to take Lee home, I would go run around Konoha on my hands just to try and match it!"

"Hey, I can't take the credit," Anko shrugged. "Those kids came here with those skills."

"Anko-sensei, what's up?" asked Naruto.

"Oh, we have another mission and we're going with Team 8," said Anko.

"Really? Sweet!" Naruto grinned.

Hinata couldn't help but smile as she saw Naruto's face brighten into his sunny smile, '_Naruto-kun,_' Mimi was working with her as much as she could to ensure Hinata got the man of her dreams by telling tales about Naruto's training with them and all sorts of little details about him that Hinata could use as ways to achieving his heart. As red as it turned her for even thinking about being that close to him, Hinata was determined to at least try.

"So, where are we headed?" asked Naruto.

"When emo-boy is rested we're headed to Wave," said Anko.

* * *

After Shen managed to get his act together and Gai had taken Lee to drop him off at home, Anko and Kurenai sat their teams down to get them up to speed on the situation at hand. They were all near the Inuzuka kennels since that was where they found Kiba and Shino since they had to complete their mission without Hinata. Hearing they suddenly got to go on an A-rank mission certainly made Kiba's day if his cheering over it was anything to go by.

"A few days ago, Team 7 was dispatched to guide a bridge builder back to Wave Country," Kurenai began. "Supposedly, it was a regular C-rank mission with little risk involved. At most, they would have run into bandits or something and Genin can usually take care of them."

"I assume something went wrong or else we would not be having this conversation," Shino spoke up.

"Damn right," Anko nodded. "Turns out that idiot of a builder lied about the mission since he didn't have enough money to pay for the right mission. He's got missing-nins after his head. Even worse, one of them Momochi Zabuza."

"One of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist?" Shen blinked. "They're some of the most skilled swordsmen in all of the elemental countries!" He'd done his homework, it seemed.

"Yes," Kurenai nodded. "The situation is not well since Kakashi is reported to be down for a few more days and at least one of his students was injured badly in their first scuffle against Zabuza. He has requested backup immediately and we're going to give it to him."

"But why us?" asked Mimi. "I mean, we're just Genin and Zabuza's a Jounin level ninja."

"You three took down that machine man didn't you?" asked Anko with a grin. "A guy like that would have dropped Zabuza like nothing."

"She's right, guys!" smiled Naruto. "All it takes is teamwork, just like that time in the hole!"

* * *

_Naruto, Shen and Mimi were ten years old and were just starting to work together as a team. Today was training like any other day. Jan had taken them out on a camping trip and after they set up camp and had dinner, they went to sleep. The next morning the GekiJyuKen trainees were in for a rude awakening._

_The three GekiJyuKen trainees were tied up together, sitting back to back, with a very strong length of rope wrapped tightly around them, pinning their arms to their sides. Struggling only increased the pain. While they had been sleeping comfortably, one of their instructors had thrown them into a deep hole after tying them up. Bae had told them that the instructors_

"_OK, so how are we supposed to get out of this?" asked Naruto. "Shen, any ideas?"_

"_I'm thinking," the black-clad Lion-ken user answered. "Mimi, what about you?"_

"_We could try jumping," she suggested. "But our combined weight would definitely drag us back down because of gravity." She frowned sadly._

"_Don't worry, Mimi-chan," said Naruto encouragingly. He looked around for anything that could help them get help. Straightening his legs to stretch, the soles of his feet touched the wall of the hole. "Hey, guys. I got an idea."_

"_Really?" Mimi asked hopefully._

"_Don't leave us hanging, Uzumaki," Shen spoke._

"_OK, stand up together," Naruto instructed. They did as told and were standing back to back. Now, put one leg out and press your foot against the wall in front of you. Without question, Mimi and Shen did as told as well. "Alright, now lift the other leg and do the same thing."_

_They were now suspended off the floor of the hole, their feet pressed against the wall of the hole. Their backs were also being pressed together so they were a bit uncomfortable._

"_Now what?" Mimi asked._

"_I think I got it," Shen spoke up. "We're going to climb up using our feet, together."_

"_Teamwork," Naruto grinned. "OK, on my count. 1 and 2, 1 and 2."_

_The trio began to ascend up the hole, one foot at a time, climbing with only their feet. They did slip back down a few times, but never hit the bottom. They continued on and it didn't take long before they were at the entrance of the hole._

"_OK, we're here!" cheered Naruto._

"_Yay! Naru-chan!" beamed Mimi._

"_So, how are we supposed to get out of this?" Shen asked. They were at the top of the hole but couldn't move from their position without falling back in._

"_Um…" Naruto hadn't really thought things through._

"_Great, we're stuck," sighed Shen. "Now what do we do?"_

"_Now, you ask for help," said Jan as he smiled at the trio, grabbing the rope and pulling them out._

* * *

"Jan-sensei had pretty unorthodox training methods," admitted Shen, "But they worked in the end."

"Just like Neko-sensei!" added Naruto.

"Like a triangle, if all parts aren't equal is just becomes a weird shape!" said Mimi, making a triangle shape with her hands.

"An interesting metaphor," said Kurenai. "Still, Anko and I will deal with Zabuza ourselves."

"That sounds reasonable enough," agreed Shino.

"Can I commentate on the fight?" Bae asked.

"Sure you can, Bae-chan," said Mimi, "Just stay out of harm's way, OK?"

Kiba looked at the three GekiJyuKen artists. They were something else. His family did practice a beast-based taijutsu but mostly revolving around canines. However, these GekiJyuKen artists possessed styles of other animals. He was impressed when they defeated Sasuke. The arrogant jackass deserved the humiliating humbling.

"Alright!" Naruto pumped his fists. "Let's go!"

* * *

After clearing it with the guards in front of the gate, Team 8 and Team 9 set off for Wave. If they travelled by foot, they should reach by nightfall. As usual, they were prepared. Naruto had his pack filled with instant ramen. Mimi was walking close to Shen and making conversation with him and while his responses were brief, they were polite. Unlike Sasuke, he didn't brush anyone off. While it appeared that Shen and Sasuke shared similar attitudes at first glance, among other things, their attitudes were like night and day. Sasuke brushed everyone off, seeing them as below him and terribly weak. Why so many girls found it attractive not even Iruka-sensei would have been able to answer. Shen on the other hand was at least polite and listened if you had something to say to him, even if he didn't like it. He treated everyone fairly and if he did treat someone like they were weaker than him, it was usually because they were.

Hinata looked at Naruto from behind. The blonde GekiJyuKen artist was somebody that she couldn't help but admire. Mimi had told her stories about Naruto's determination.

Shino, of course, was conversing with Bae. It was the most animated he had been in any conversation that the group had heard around him.

After several hours, and breaks along the way, the group reached Wave as the sun was beginning to sink towards the horizon. After a discrete ride with a nervous boatman, the ninjas officially entered the country. Unfortunately, they were also witness to the poverty which everyone was forced into. People sat along the streets with signs begging for alms or work. What few shops were open could only boast the worst they had in stock, tiniest vegetables, and the oldest wares. Everyone was depressed and silent with the odd outcry of halting a thief, usually a small child, making off with a piece of food or some spare change.

Mimi looked about in sympathy. The place almost looked like a ghost town. "These poor people," she murmured.

"This is what happens when someone like Gato takes over," said Anko. "Everyone suffers to fill his pockets."

"Just who does this guy think he is?" demanded Naruto.

"Gato is the founder and owner of Gato Shipping Inc." Kurenai explained, sparing the people a very sad glance as they walked through the town. "The man's made a fortune through his shipping routes and very few can compete against him. Unfortunately, it's not because he's a shrewd businessman."

"W-what do you m-mean Kurenai-sensei?" asked Hinata with a tremble.

"Gato is involved with smuggling be it stolen goods, narcotics, or contraband not allowed in different countries," Kurenai answered. "Generally if you want something illegally, he's the one to go to if you want to get it and have it delivered. It's given him deep ties with organized crime and helped amass a fortune of illegal income. This in turn allows him to pull off all sorts of crimes against any and all competition he may have, making him the sole shipping conglomerate which is available."

"Why hasn't anyone arrested the jerk then?" demanded Kiba.

"Because the slimeball covers his tracks too damn well," Anko growled, chewing on her dango stick. "When he moves into a small place like Wave, he effectively crushes all resistance and makes sure no one can stand up against him and everyone loses hope. The stuffed pig just has way too much influence and is able to effectively render himself untouchable by the people he's subjugating."

"And he's effectively broken their spirits," said Shen.

"How horrible!" Bae stated.

"But why do this to Wave then?" asked Naruto. "I don't mean to be rude, but Wave doesn't seem like it's so different from just about any other country. Why does Gato want it bad enough to pull something like this?"

"Strategically speaking, Wave is a good checkpoint for his shipping trade," Shino spoke up. "It is far enough away from major routes such as through Water Country which is the nearest major power but it's also close enough to yield potential profits because it is capable of shaving off time in terms of delivery. Gato stands to make much profit from both legal and illegal ventures if he manages to acquire Wave as part of his empire."

"Exactly Shino," Kurenai nodded. "Because Wave is an island nation, it makes most of its income off of shipping. I would suspect that was how Gato managed to try and acquire Wave for himself, by taking over all of the shipping routes Wave uses. He would effectively cut Wave off from the world, causing this depression."

"Hmm," Shen frowned. "Didn't you say the client for Team 7 was a bridge builder?" receiving nods, he continued. "Then I assume that the bridge we saw upon entering Wave is his work. If the bridge is completed, then Wave will have a source of income which Gato cannot buy because the bridge is property of Wave Country itself. All of the inland trade it will not doubt bring in will also ensure that the Wave Damiyo will not sell it and Gato's hold on the country will crumble."

"Sheesh, no wonder the guy hired Missing-nins," Kiba grimaced. "They guy's freaking desperate."

"And desperate men do desperate things," Anko warned. "So don't do anything stupid."

"We'd better get going then!" Mimi said. "Anko-sensei, where is Team 7 staying at?"

* * *

The two teams stood in front of Tazuna's house. "OK, this is the place," said Anko. It was a small house that looked like it'd seen better days. Then again, considering the condition of the place it was no surprise. At the very least it was still standing. Sadly, it was still the nicest building they had seen thus far. It was clean and looked cared for with lots of natural scenery around it at the very least. Walking up to the door, Kurenai softly knocked on it and waited for a reply.

"Hello?" a female voice answered. Opening the door slightly was a woman with a pink shirt with a red collar and sleeves with a skirt. She had long black hair and despite being somewhat older, she was still very attractive. She eyed the small group warily until she spotted their Konoha symbols. "Oh, are you the backup Kakashi-san said would be expecting?"

"Yes," Kurenai nodded. "My name is Kurenai Yuhi and this is Anko Mitarashi and our teams. I assume you're a relative of Tazuna-san at the very least."

"Yes. His daughter," the woman nodded, opening the door and gesturing them inside. "My name is Tsunami. Father is out working on the bridge again and Sakura-san is currently guarding him. Kakashi-san is currently training Sasuke-san and Jin-san is in bed, resting."

"One of the Genin got hurt?" asked Anko, chewing on yet another dango stick.

"Unfortunately," Tsunami sighed, obviously depressed in a motherly sense at seeing a twelve-year old being wounded on the field of battle. "From what I was told, father and Kakashi-san's team were attacked by Zabuza on their way here. Kakashi-san had drained himself of his…chakra, you call it, right? He ended up needing to be carried here. The Genin had to fight a water clone that Zabuza made to kill my father and it cut Jin-san across the chest before they managed to dispel it. The wound wasn't incredibly serious, but I forbid him from training until it heals, a notion Kakashi-san agreed with."

"I see," Kurenai nodded. She and Anko had both gotten that much from Kakashi's report, although it didn't say that any of the Genin had been bedridden.

"Why don't you all rest?" Tsunami suggested. "You must be tired from your journey."

"That sounds like a good idea," Shen agreed. "Naruto, Mimi, what about you?"

"I just wanna rest my feet," said Naruto. "I feel like I got blisters."

"Do they hurt?" Hinata asked Naruto.

"He's had worse," said Mimi. "Trust me on this."

"Then it's settled then," concluded Anko.

* * *

After a moment to rest their feet and have a small snack from their packs, Anko and Kurenai began to assign duties to their teams. Kurenai volunteered her team to go and relieve Sakura from guard duty while Anko had her team to guard the homestead with Tsunami who apparently had a son they hadn't met yet. As Naruto and Mimi made themselves comfortable, Shen went to find Kakashi and Sasuke, so to bring the one-eyed Jounin up to date on the situation and alert him that his reinforcements had arrived. He found them in the forest near the house. Kakashi had his arm in a sling and Sasuke was trying to climb a tree with only his feet, using chakra to stick to the surface. "So, this is your training?" the Lion-ken artist asked.

"Hm?" Kakashi blinked, turning to see Shen. "Oh, you're Shen, right? Part of Anko's team."

Sasuke, who slid down the trunk of the tree after making a gash mark in it to show how high he had gotten, frowned slightly at the sight of the Lion-ken user. He had not forgotten both defeats he had been handed by the GekiJyuKen fighter. The first was humiliating enough since he managed to dispel a jutsu that the Uchiha prided themselves in and then managed to come out a superior in the taijutsu portion of the Genin test. Sasuke was raised to believe the Uchiha were the best and still believed it long after the massacre. He didn't like the thought of anyone being better than him, especially someone from his own age group.

"That's right," Shen nodded. "Anko-sensei sent me to let you know we had all arrived. My team is currently guarding Tsunami-san's home while Kurenai-san and her team are relieving Sakura of protecting Tazuna at the bridge. From what we've been able to tell, you've all been stretched thin, especially with one of you own bedridden and you yourself incapacitated for the time being."

"True," Kakashi nodded.

Shen glanced at the tree Sasuke had been climbing and noticed the slash marks on its surface telling of the Uchiha's progress. Each mark was significantly higher than the one before it, indicating that Sasuke had been progressing quickly. Considering how it had only been a few days since Team 7 had left for Wave, it showed just how fast the Uchiha was progressing through the exercise. It spoke well for the young man's ability as a ninja, although his social skills certainly still sucked.

"Chakra control training, right?" Shen asked, regarding what Kakashi was doing with Sasuke. "Is that all? I expected something a bit more advanced considering what you'll be facing."

"It's a basic exercise but a ninja needs a good foundation and grasp on the basics," said Kakashi. Most Jounin would have taught their students something like the tree-climbing exorcise right away, but Kakashi had wanted to blend his team into a single unit first through D-rank missions and ensure they had their teamwork down before going for advanced ninja teachings. In truth, he was going to use the C-rank mission as a test to see if they were ready yet but instead it turned A-rank and bit him in the ass. With Jin wounded and bedridden and both Sakura and Sasuke cycling protection detail on Tazuna, Kakashi was struggling to ensure that his students' chances of surviving went from none, to slim at the very least. The backup Anko and Kurenai brought would be incredibly welcome.

Shen nodded at Kakashi's words. Even GekiJyuKen enforced the idea of mastering the basics before anything else. Flashy techniques were fine and dandy, but unless you knew the basics, you would never be able to master the advanced stages or worse, hurt yourself trying to do such. Naruto learned that lesson when he tried to use something similar to their teachers' techniques with the floundering chakra he had and ended up burning his hands for it.

Ending his reminiscing, Shen noticed that Sasuke had started staring at him in his usual brooding glare instead of going for the chakra control exorcise again. Shen resisted the urge to sigh and roll his eyes, half-expecting the reaction, "What is it Uchiha?"

"I want you to fight me," challenged Sasuke.

Shen rolled his eyes. This was another unhealthy habit that Sasuke had. He seemed to be obsessed with proving his strength. Shen and Naruto had both beaten him in combat and yet it still wasn't enough. Sasuke seemed determined to go up against them again to prove his strength no matter how many times he was beaten. Still, Shen had to at least admire Sasuke's determination, but he didn't like the look the Uchiha was giving him. Crossing his arms, Shen replied, "I don't I have time to waste to brawl with you, Uchiha."

Sasuke was about to retort when Kakashi interrupted, "Actually, maybe a spar would be helpful."

Shen cocked an eyebrow. It seemed that Kakashi was plotting something. Still, Kakashi was the superior Shinobi as he was Jonin ranked. "Fine, a spar then. Hatake-san, do you mind being the referee?"

"Well I-"

"Oooh! I sensed an incoming fight!" the voice of Bae announced before the GekiJyu Fly-ken user suddenly buzzed onto the scene. "And I see I was right! I can feel the fire brewing from here!"

"It's amazing how you can do that," Shen muttered. Although he knew that GekiJyu Fly-ken allowed its users to have greater senses, much like how a fly was able to fly away before someone could even attempt to swat them, but with the way Bae was able to sense when a GekiJyuKen fighter was about to do battle, it was almost supernatural.

"I suppose we have an announcer then," Kakashi chuckled. Although he thought Bae was strange-looking, he had heard all about the fly-man from Anko's tales (bragging) about her team and thus was a little more prepared to see him.

"Well, looks like this is Sasuke Uchiha VS Shen Long, round two! Sasuke Uchiha is the survivor of the Uchiha Clan who possess the legendary Sharingan Kekkei Genkai. He has challenged Shen Long of the GekiJyuKen Beast Arts School! Shen is a practitioner of the Lion-ken which gives him the strength to face any challenge! With me is Kakashi Hatake, the Jonin Sensei of Team 7, and the referee of this match!"

"Hajime!" Kakashi declared.

Sasuke instantly shot towards Shen and threw a fist at him but Shen managed to sidestep the attack and spun on his legs so he could hit Sasuke in the back with a palm. Sasuke stumbled and angrily turned around and began to kick at Shen, forcing him on the defensive. Shen stepped back with each blow, blocking with his forearms. It seemed that Sasuke had improved since the last time they'd fought. He needed to find an opening and soon. He ducked under a kick aimed for his head and got his chance to land a powerful uppercut into Sasuke's chin, knocking him down to the ground. Shen then got into a stance, preparing for Sasuke's next attack.

"Sasuke starts off the fight with a punch to Shen but our Lion-ken user was able to dodge and counter with a palm strike. However, the Uchiha was able to force Shen on the defensive. However, Sasuke's kick missed and Shen capitalized on this with an uppercut!" Bae reported the play-by-play.

Lions were natural predators but they also had the ability to lie and wait. They would watch their prey, waiting for the opportune moment before pouncing. Lion-ken fit Shen like a glove. He was like a lion, waiting to pounce.

It wasn't a virtue that Sasuke possessed. Gritting his teeth, he was on his feet in a flash and charging at Shen once again, unleashing combos of punches and kicks. Once more Shen started blocking and dodging the blows, being on the defensive once again. Still, as much as Sasuke improved, his impatience and temper was once again working against him as Shen kept his cool and kept his eyes open for any and all advantages which he could use.

"Sasuke's on the offensive again and forcing Shen on the defensive yet again! Can Shen get out of this one?" Bae reported.

Kakashi could likewise see where his student was beginning to flounder. Sasuke had skill, no doubt about that. However, he was beginning to get sloppy and leaving himself open in favor of using more powerful blows or trying to strike what he saw as openings in Shen's defense. Once again Kakashi was reminded of how he used to be, impatient, seeing his goals as the only ones that mattered, and a desire for strength that was all-encompassing. Kakashi had Rin, Obito, and Minato to help bring him out of the funk he had pushed himself into and he just hoped that Sasuke would be able to learn the lesson as well before he ended up having to pay the tragic price that the gray-haired Jounin had to pay in order to learn that lesson.

A punch to the face sent Shen skidding backwards on his feet. His lip was bleeding but he wiped it off with his sleeve. Sasuke wore a smug look on his face.

"And Shen takes a major hit to the face!" Bae gasped.

Shen's eyes narrowed as he got into a Lion-ken stance. Now it was his turn to go on the offensive. He bounced on his feet and then pounced straight for Sasuke. Sasuke dodged to the side but Shen expected that as he got down low and used a sweep kick on Sasuke to knock him off his feet. Sasuke flipped back to his feet and used a roundhouse which Shen blocked with his forearm.

"Amazing! Both fighters appear to be evenly matches!" Bae cried out.

"Uchiha, you've improved," admitted Shen.

"Hn," Sasuke merely grunted before he broke away to try a different attack.

'_What do those fangirls see in this guy?_' Shen asked himself as he charged after the last Uchiha.

The battle continued as the two fighters collided with each other again and again. Strikes were unleashed upon one another with tenacity and emotion, indicating just how badly both of them had wanted to win the fight. However, Shen was keeping control of himself, keeping his emotions in check so they wouldn't cloud his judgment while Sasuke was having his pride as an Uchiha and his anger from previous defeats push him just as much as his determination was. Certainly the skill being revealed was good for both the boys' ages, but Sasuke was getting cocky and it seemed that Shen wasn't taking the fight as seriously as he could be. He obviously didn't like Sasuke very much and wasn't very enthusiastic about having to fight him for a third time.

"Shen-sama!"

Both fighters' concentration broke a bit when they spotted Mimi and Naruto approaching from the direction of Tazuna's house. No doubt Mimi had followed Bae since the Fly-ken user sensed the impending fight and wanted to commentate.

"Mimi-chan!" Bae buzzed over to Mimi. The Chameleon-ken user quickly nabbed him out of the air and captured him in her arms, holding him like the constant companion or stuffed toy that some people liked to have on hand at all times. Bae really didn't mind since Mimi was very nice and didn't smack him around like Mele did when they were together.

"So, what's up?" Naruto asked.

"Well, as of now, both are evenly matched," said Bae.

"Shen-sama hasn't gone all out yet," said Mimi.

"It's just a spar," said Kakashi.

Naruto snorted, "More like a grudge match."

Kakashi eyed Naruto and let out a sigh. He knew Naruto wasn't the Kyuubi no Youko. The boy was too nice to be a demon. Too bad not many shared that feeling. He really hated how ignorant people could be sometimes. Still, he was glad that Naruto found some friends and people who did care about him.

"And why hasn't he used any of his Gekiwaza?" asked Naruto.

"I think Shen-sama wants to enjoy this," said Mimi. "Kinda like you."

"Like me?"

"Well, at least he's not an adrenaline junkie," Mimi joked.

The two combatants got some distance between them. Shen's chest and shoulders rose and fell. Sasuke Uchiha may be a jerk but he had some skill. It seemed he'd learnt quite a bit following his loss to him and Naruto. Still, the Uchiha's emotions were erratic and not focused. Shen could see the twitch in Sasuke's eyes. He was angry that he had not yet taken Shen down.

"Hey, Uchiha, how about we end this with just one attack? You can use whatever Jutsu you have and I can use whatever Gekiwaza I have." Shen suggested.

Sasuke didn't verbally answer, but instead leaped back and began flipping through hand seals for one of his favorite Jutsus. Shen became engulfed in a golden aura he as too prepared one of his own techniques. Both fighters charged their chakra and Geki before releasing it at the same time in the form of their attacks.

"_Katon: Goukaku no Jutsu!_"

"_Gekiwaza: Shi Shi Dan!_"

Sasuke unleashed a powerful fireball which was noticeably bigger than the one he had unleashed on Shen back in the academy. No doubt the chakra exorcise was part of the reason why. Higher control meant he could control more chakra at once and the exercise of climbing trees meant his stores were likely bigger than before. Shen on the other hand unleashed his familiar black and gold lion which roared and charged towards Sasuke at top speed. Lion and fireball collided with one another, pushing against one another. Sasuke kept breathing out, ensuring more fire was fueled into the attack while Shen pressed more Geki into his attack so to keep the lion going.

'_I can't lose! I WON'T LOSE!_' Sasuke shouted in his mind as he put more power into the fireball. '_More! MORE!_'

Shen closed his eyes, concentrating, and then he snapped his eyes open before he unleashed a lion-like roar. The size of his Shi Shi Dan increased and the lion actually swallowed up the fireball before surging straight for Sasuke. Sasuke's eyes widened as he realized he was about to be hit but then the Shi Shi Dan simply evaporated in the air.

Shen had cancelled it out himself.

"Why?" Sasuke asked, bewildered.

"We don't need anyone else bedridden on this mission," said Shen. "Considering we were sent to back you up, I feel it'd be counterproductive if I hurt you too badly. I'll be honest, Uchiha. I don't like you. However, you and I are comrades whether we like it or not so I'll simply put up with you. However, as much as I don't like you I can at least respect your determination. You've got power. Unfortunately, that power is unstable."

Sasuke gritted his teeth in anger.

"So…who won?" Naruto asked.

"Nobody," said Shen. "It was just a spar, right Hatake-san?"

"Yes," Kakashi nodded. "I think that will be enough for now. I'd like to head back to the house so to touch base with Anko and then Kurenai when she gets back. No doubt all of you would like at least a little rest after travelling so long to get here."

Gesturing, Kakashi began walking towards the house, the genin in tow. Of course, Sasuke went into his usual brooding stance, throwing dark glares at Shen for daring to insult his strength. Unstable? He'd show him unstable!

* * *

The day wore on and Tazuna eventually returned. He was a man in his fifties to sixties with gray hair and a beard, needing glasses to keep his vision sharp. However, his body still had plenty of muscle in it and seemed to still be very strong despite his age. He looked very different from the drunken man that Sakura had described as stumbling into the mission office. Instead, he looked like a man who was reaching his limit.

He had been of mixed emotions about more Konoha ninjas coming. On one hand, it meant that the workers and his family would have more protection in case Gato's thugs tried to pull anything. However, he was afraid that it would end up costing him more money. Kurenai had assured him that the pay would be the same since it was at the discretion of the Hokage to assign as many ninjas as he felt needed for a mission. Of course, words might be exchanged over how he lied about the mission details.

Tsunami offered to cook for everyone, but most of the ninjas denied her generous offer. No doubt their food stores were being stretched thin just to feed Kakashi and his team. Anko and Kurenai had both brought food of their own along with their teams. All they would need would be water for something to drink, or in Naruto's case use to help make his instant ramen. Tsunami felt a little like an impolite host, but accepted the ninjas' wishes.

That was when Tsunami's son, a young boy named Inari, came to see the ninjas. He didn't look all that happy but considering the poor state of the village that was understandable. It would put anyone in a bad mood. The boy had come inside after a day outdoors, no school being done since the depression had forced the school to be closed down according to Tsunami. As dinner rolled around, the group dined in the living room so everyone would have a place to sit and everyone would be able to talk to one another. Of course, the little boy in overalls and bucket hat didn't seem too pleased with how the ninjas were talking about what they were going to do when they faced Zabuza and how they were going to train. As the dinner hour wore one, the boy just got more and more irritated until he finally snapped at the group of Genin.

"Why do you even bother? You know Gato will kill you, right? It doesn't matter how strong you try to be! He'll just wipe you out!" he shouted. He was standing up and his fists were clenched and trembling with how upset he was, but for either rage or grief it was hard to say.

"Oh, he can try," Mimi responded.

"You just don't get it, do you? You're all so happy but do you know what it's like for people to suffer?"

Shen scowled and Naruto gritted his teeth. Everyone in the room could immediately tell that Inari had just crossed the line. For those who knew Naruto, they all knew he was an orphan and for some reason the adults were mean to him a lot before the travelling martial arts master found him and took him in for training. Obviously to them Shen had a similar background or else he wouldn't be getting angry either. The blonde was about to retort angrily when Mimi spoke up.

"Shen-sama and Naru-chan do," said Mimi, looking Inari in the eye. "Shen-sama and Naru-chan are both orphans. They've lost both their parents. I don't know what happened to you, but at least you have a mother and grandfather." She added, "And if we die, it's better to die fighting rather than act like a whining crybaby. You're not so special. If you think you had it bad, others have got it way worse."

Inari reared back like he was slapped before he ran up the stairs. Mimi sighed in frustration both at what had just occurred and at herself for snapping like she did. She didn't like talking to others like that, especially others like Inari who were no doubt suffering. However, she just couldn't stand by and let the boy wallow in his misery and badmouth others like he was the only person in the world who knew hardship. At least it was from someone like her rather than someone else who were more likely to pound Inari for his words rather than snap at him.

"Weren't you being a little harsh, Mimi-chan?" Naruto asked, though he'd wanted to say something too. Well, he probably would have said something similar, but hearing it being actually said made it sound pretty darn harsh.

"I said what I felt was right to say," said Mimi. She looked to Shen. "Sorry, Shen-sama." She knew Shen didn't like talking about his status as an orphan or how it happened, but he at least knew it had to be said in certain situations.

"It's fine," he told her. He had come to terms with his loss some time ago but it wasn't the kind of subject that was talked about like gossip between housewives at the supermarket. However sometimes it just had to be said and it certainly helped Mimi make her point.

Nodding, Mimi then turned to Tsunami and bowed her head respectfully, "I apologize, Tsunami-san."

"No, it's alright. Inari's just been so depressed ever since his stepfather died," said Tsunami.

"How did he die?" Hinata asked.

"He died opposing Gato. We were all forced to watch as Gato executed him. It broke everyone's spirits. He was a great man, you see, and Inari looked up to him." Tsunami sighed. "A lot of people looked up to him. He opposed Gato and after he was executed for it, but Inari seems to believe that heroes don't exist anymore. It seems he's lost all hope now."

"Guess seeing his hero die broke him," concluded Shen. Glancing, he noticed that Naruto was up and heading for the door. "Naruto, where are you going?"

"I'm heading out for some air, and too stretch my legs."

"Be careful, Naruto-san," said Hinata. He flashed her a smile which made her flush.

Sasuke looked at Shen. So, he knew the same pain. However, he didn't understand why Shen could be so strong while he was so much weaker. They knew the same pain and both struggled to grow stronger and were even the same age. So just why was it that Shen had become so powerful while Sasuke, while powerful in his own rights as a ninja, seemed to pale in comparison?

* * *

Naruto went out to get some fresh air so he decided to take a walk in the nearby woods. As a Beast Fist artist, he felt one with nature. His teachers all said it had something to do with their connection to their inner beast spirits. Naruto had the Kyuubi within him but his Fox-ken Geki was from his own soul and had little to do with the nine-tailed Bijuu. Of course, he doubted anyone who knew about the fox in Konoha would believe that. At best, they'd think he was drawing power from it or something.

Naruto stretched, taking in a deep breath of fresh air. While the GekiJyuKen Beast Arts had a training facility in SCRTC with top of the line equipment, the founder of the original Beast Fist School had trained within nature itself. That was why Naruto spent most of his life on training camps in the woods. Sitting down, he stretched again and lay down on his back. He was feeling too stressed and needed some time alone to vent it out with a good nap. Closing his eyes and enjoying the soothing presence of nature, he did just that.

* * *

Back at Tazuna's place, dinner had ended on somewhat of a sour note after Inari's explosion and Mimi's retort. So to try and forget the dim mood, the ninjas began going off to do their own things. Anko, Kurenai, and Kakashi were discussing plans and details concerning how to protect Tazuna and how to fight Zabuza should the time come. Shino politely went to assist Tsunami with the dishes with Kiba grumbling next to him. Sakura was off giving Jin his meal while he recovered while Sasuke had gone off to train by himself again. Lastly, Shen and Mimi were doing some training outside so to keep an eye on things. Mimi was warming up by standing on one hand and doing splits, getting her flexibility ready for some of the katas she had planned. Shen was already doing some shadow boxing to help get himself hyped up.

"Mimi, can we talk?" Mimi blinked at the voice and looked up from the ground to make herself see Sakura's sandals in front of her.

"OK," answered Mimi as she righted herself on her feet. Bae buzzed over and dropped a towel in her hand. Wiping her brow, she glanced at the pinkette. "What's up?"

"What you said about Shen, was it true?" asked Sakura.

"He doesn't like to talk about it, but a few years back he lost his parents," said Mimi, recalling the stories she'd heard from the elder GekiRangers. "They were sick but one night some kind of energy sucking demon appeared and drained everyone in the city they lived in. His parents didn't survive."

"Just like Sasuke…" Sakura compared.

"Yeah, they're similar in that way, but Shen-sama's different. He's not afraid to get close to people."

Sakura quickly took offense to Mimi's comments and her fangirl side quickly rose to the challenge, "Sasuke isn't afraid of anything!"

"Anything, but forging new bonds," Mimi corrected. Since meeting Sasuke at the academy, she had seen him shrug off everyone's attempts to try and get closer to him. The fangirls would try and try but never succeed, not that it stopped them. Far from being shy or too busy like the fangirls convinced themselves, Sasuke just didn't seem to want to connect to anybody. "I doubt he's had anything nice to say about anyone since that night. I know Shen-sama can seem a bit cold but he's at least friendly."

"So is Sasuke!" Sakura insisted.

"Name one time he's ever been genuinely friendly," Mimi replied. "Just one genuine moment where he acted as a friend, not just for the sake of a mission or anything, but actually spent his free time with you." Sakura didn't answer. "That's what I thought**.**"

"Well, he's always busy training!" Sakura persisted.

"Shen-sama's busy training too, but he at least has his schedule open to hang out with me and Naru-chan." Mimi added, "Word of advice, open your eyes before you go blind. I'm not snipping at you because you like a boy. That would make me a hypocrite. What I'm snipping at you about is how you seem to rationalize everything Sasuke does into something that makes him into the tragic little bishonen you seem so infatuated with. This isn't the schoolyard anymore, this is the real world and we can't keep having you drooling over Sasuke with your little fantasies while he couldn't give less of a damn and we're all busy trying to do our jobs."

"Ha! You're one to talk!" Sakura snapped bitterly. "Shen barely seems to talk to you at all! Maybe you should snap out of your fantasies!"

"Bite your tongue!"

Sakura and Mimi turned to see Shen approaching, apparently feeling the need to get involved in the conversation since he was quickly becoming a subject in it, "I may not be prone to fits of affection or expression like you seem to think your perfect man should be, but I do show I care about Mimi in other ways. I trust her, I lower my guard around her, I train with her, I help her grow stronger like she helps me, and I can just simply sit around and do nothing with her. Aside from Naruto, I can proudly say there's no one else I'd trust my back, and my life to."

"Shen-sama…" Mimi murmured happily, her cheeks rosy.

"I'm sure Sasuke-kun would do those things to once I get closer to him," Sakura huffed.

"Provided he does at all, which I very much doubt," Shen snorted. "Despite what you and the other fangirls may think, he is not some kind of tragic little hero who simply needs the power of love to turn him into the romantic man you so desire. He doesn't respect anyone except for powerful ninjas and from what I can tell, that seems to only extend as far as what they can teach him. He never says two words to Kakashi-san about anything beyond training and from what Ino-san was crowing that one time in we saw her after our return to Konoha, all he seems to speak to you about is denying dates."

"Ino-pig…:" Sakura growled, just knowing her rival was going to grind that tidbit in her face soon enough.

"Uchiha isn't someone willing to open his heart to anybody, not since he lost his family. That much can be said. He cares about nothing but avenging and reviving his clan. Everything else is insignificant. He's not some brooding hero with a good heart. He's someone who has closed off his heart to others so he doesn't have to feel that kind of pain again," Shen added.

"What do you know!" demanded Sakura.

"Because a long time ago, I wasn't so different. I've also learnt that a strong lion still needs his pride." He looked to Mimi and gave her a small, yet warm, smile. Shen considered Mimi and Naruto as part of his pride and as such would never, ever, consider them anything less than what they were. They were his friends, his teammates, and his family most of all. Mimi could get overly obsessive and Naruto could be annoying, but he didn't consider those faults as important. They were his important people. "If you're really serious about being a Kunoichi, then train hard. You're the only person here who doesn't have any techniques beyond what the academy has taught. Mimi, Naruto and I have all developed our own personal techniques to compliment the techniques we've been taught. As you are now, you're simply deadweight and average."

Sakura frowned. That much was true. She hated to admit it, but these kids who learnt the art of GekiJyuKen were just beyond her. They could execute techniques without the need of hand seals. While she still insisted Sasuke's losses to Shen and Naruto were just flukes, she had to admit that compared to them she wasn't at all amazing.

* * *

Naruto mumbled as he lived his dream of becoming a king of a land made of ramen ruled with a queen who he hadn't seen the face of before he awoke. Rubbing his eyes as he sat up, he sensed movement and realized a girl was staring at him, a girl in a sleeveless pink yukata.

"I'm sorry I woke you," the girl apologized. She had long black hair. He blushed. She was pretty, very pretty!

"Ah…" Naruto blushed. "It's…okay…" he answered awkwardly. He sat up and saw that she had a basket. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm collecting medicinal herbs," she told him. "I'm Haku, by the way."

"Uzumaki. Naruto Uzumaki."

"Nice to meet you, Uzumaki-san," Haku smiled.

Hinata had followed Naruto and hid behind a tree as she watched him from afar. When she saw this other girl just come along talking to her crush, she quickly feared that Naruto might start crushing on her. She was just so pretty and Hinata always felt herself to be rather plain. This new girl was so elegant and graceful. If Naruto decided to try and pursue her in a romantic sense, did Hinata really stand a chance?

Her heart clenched at the thought of Naruto falling for someone else besides her.

As she shifted so to try and hide herself from view, Naruto's ears perked, hearing the movement. Turning, he spied the shy heiress hiding behind a tree, watching himself and the new girl with a slight flush on her face. Smiling, he waved at her, "Hey Hinata!"

"Eep!" the heiress squeaked, hiding behind the tree completely.

"Come on, Hinata! Don't be shy! Come on over!" he called. Shyly, the Hyuuga heiress got out from her hiding place. Haku seemed amuse as the girl carefully walked over. Naruto patted the spot next to him and she sat down. "Haku-san, this is one of my friends from Konoha, Hinata Hyuuga."

"Pleased to meet you, Hyuuga-san," said Haku. "Konoha? You're both are a very long way from home, aren't you? What brings you to Wave?"

"A super top-secret ninja mission!" Naruto declared. Haku giggled.

"Alright then, but as ninja do you know what you're fighting for?" asked Haku.

"Well, I don't know about what ninjas should be fighting for, but I know what I am fighting for!" said Naruto. He followed the ideals of the GekiJyuKen and one word came to mind, "Justice."

"Justice…" Haku murmured. "What about someone precious?"

"What do you mean, Haku-san?" asked Hinata.

"I believe that fighting for someone precious to you is the greatest thing of all. It fills you with purpose and the desire to better yourself for that person, to pay them back for all they've done for you," Haku answered, a hand on her heart. The girl made such a sudden serene picture, even Hinata felt herself getting flustered by the girl's beauty rather than out of her regular shyness.

"I've got precious people too!" answered Naruto. "My friends, my senseis, my senpais, and my comrades."

"I'm glad you have people you want to fight for," Haku smiled, seemingly almost envious of the blonde boy having so many precious people.

"Ano…do you mind if we borrowed some of your herbs?" asked Hinata. "One of our comrades is hurt."

"I think I have plenty to share," said Haku, raising the basket she held. "Besides, this place is ripe with them so if you need more you know where to go."

"Arigatou," Hinata smiled, bowing respectfully.

* * *

As the sun sank over the horizon, the ninjas all returned to the house for the night. There was only one guest room to go around and Jin was already in it healing his wounds. He claimed that he was fine, but Tsunami wouldn't hear of it. Still, there wasn't enough room for everyone so the kunoichi all took the room while the other men were forced to sleep downstairs. Naruto grumbled about girls getting preferential treatment because they were so pretty, but everyone ignored him save for Kiba who teased him about mooning over their senseis. Naruto would have punched him for it, but he was too tired to argue.

They needed to rest up because tomorrow they would need all their energy to fight.

* * *

**KAMEN RIDER CHROME: Sorry this took so long but we've all been busy, plus writer's block sucks. Anyway, Paladin and I now present the latest chap of Geki Naruto to you.**


	8. Lesson 8: The Fight for Wave Begins

Chapter 8: The Battle For Wave Begins

The next morning, Shen was up early as usual doing his morning exercises. Naruto and Mimi were still on guard detail with Tsunami and her home while Kakashi's team was to guard Tazuna at the bridge that day. Team Anko was to assist where needed and prepare for the upcoming conflict with Zabuza.

As Shen prepared to move through some katas, he felt a familiar presence approaching. Being a practitioner of GekiJyu Lion-ken, Shen's senses were honed much like a lion's, keeping an eye out for prey and challengers. The presence he felt approaching certainly felt like the latter with the dark thoughts towards him present in it. Sighing, Shen prepared for yet another confrontation, "Shouldn't you be guarding Tazuna, Uchiha?"

Ignoring the quip, Sasuke demanded, "How are you so strong?"

'_Blunt as always and caring only about strength,_' Shen signed internally. Still, the question brought up a memory as to which Shen recalled being one of the lessons from his teacher that he took to heart since meeting the man.

* * *

_Jan had handed Mimi, Naruto and Shen a stick each. It was his turn to teach them all, but instead of the SCRTC building where the others took their lessons, Jan took them all to one of the forested areas he liked to hang out at and talk to the animals. "Break the stick," he instructed._

"_Why?" Shen asked, not seeing the point._

"_Break the stick," Jan repeated. The three GekiJyuKen trainees did as instructed. The sticks broke in half easily._

"_Now, you see how weak a single stick is?" Jan questioned. He then handed a bundle of sticks to each of them. "Now, try to break them." Naruto tried but couldn't. Mimi tried to break her bundle but it was hard and she could barely bend them. Even Shen had trouble, only bending them slightly._

"_You see how the sticks are stronger together?" Jan pointed out. "That's what teamwork is all about. You all work together to cover each other's weaknesses."_

* * *

"I'm strong because I have my team's support and my sensei's guidance," answered Shen simply, still not turning to face his interrogator.

"Relying on others makes you weak," Sasuke argued. "You can only rely on yourself."

"Something your clan believes in?" Shen responded, finally turning to glance at Sasuke. "I know you want power to avenge them, but who exactly told you to do that? Never asking for help, always doing it on your own, where did you pick that up? I imagine the Uchiha Clan understood teamwork, being one of the founding clans of Konoha."

"None of your business!"

Shen raised an eyebrow at Sasuke's retort. It was by far the most passionate he had heard the Uchiha speak about anything. It made Shen think that perhaps the one who helped instill Sasuke's current philosophy was either a mentor who had since passed on or possibly even the man who killed his clan. The latter didn't seem all that likely but given the rage in Sasuke's eyes it may in fact be true.

"Was it the one who killed off your entire clan?" Shen concluded. Sasuke froze, giving Shen all the confirmation he needed before he continued, "Strange, isn't it? He left you alive. Why is that? Why is it that he left you alive out of all of the people which made up your clan and why did he tell you to gain strength on your own? Doesn't it seem odd to you? Why are you even listening to his words after what he did? Are you that naïve?"

The words hit Sasuke like an explosive tag as the implications hit him. Why did he listen to Itachi's parting words on the night his clan was slaughtered? Part of him argued that he needed to get strong as quickly as possible and he didn't have time to do it gradually while itachi was out there no doubt growing more powerful. Besides, Itachi did it on his own and look how powerful he had become in only a few years!

But Itachi was a genius among the Uchiha clan. Everyone talked about his prowess as a ninja and praised his accomplishments, even becoming ANBU in his teens! Itachi got strong on his own because he only needed minimal teaching.

Shaking his head, Sasuke gave a dark 'hn' before heading off to meet with Kakashi and Sakura. He couldn't doubt himself now. He was naturally talented as a ninja just like Itachi was! If the weaklings needed to band together to become strong then that was fine for them. Sasuke already passed that level and didn't need a team when he could rely on himself.

"If you continue on this path, you become their reflection," Shen advised, loud enough for Sasuke to hear.

Sasuke suddenly stiffened and sharply turned his head to glare at Shen. The fury in his eyes at the sheer thought of suggesting Sasuke would become like his family's killer was very clear to Shen's eyes. It was obvious that Sasuke wasn't as over the traumatic event nor as emotionally stable as the civilians of Konoha liked to believe about their golden boy. To Shen, it was what he thought looking at a member of the RinJyuKen Akugata before Rio's reformation.

"I am nothing like him!" Sasuke shouted at Shen.

Shen cocked an eyebrow. "Like who? Your clan's killer?" He concluded, "You must've known him quite well then. It must've been someone you trusted who you never expected. Must've really broken your heart."

Sasuke began gritting his teeth, his fingers beginning to clench as Shen poked more and more at the single most terrible moment of his life. His eyes narrowed to slits as he looked ready to attack Shen for his words.

"Sasuke!"

Both Shen and Sasuke turned to see Kakashi watching the pair. His arms were crossed and his usual lazy demeanor was gone. This wasn't Kakashi the teacher at this point, but Kakashi the Jounin who was gazing at them both. "Sasuke, we're heading out. Go meet up with Sakura and Tazuna."

Sasuke frowned, but quickly regained his cool demeanor and obeyed. Glaring one last time at Shen, he headed out to meet up with his pink-haired fangirl and the bridge builder.

"You know, for someone who wants to get this mission accomplished, you're provoking Sasuke an awful lot," Kakashi commented, glancing at Shen.

"Maybe, but for my peace of mind I'll do it," Shen shrugged. Seeing Kakashi not moving and his visible eye still stern, he elaborated. "When I heard what happened to Uchiha's family and seeing how he interacts with everyone, I was a little concerned about if he's really as stable and ready for life as all of the civilians and his fangirls seem to think he is."

"And this was just a test to see if he was or not?" asked Kakashi. He understood the sentiment. One didn't get through with witnessing the slaughter of their clan and the subsequent mental torture of the ultimate Genjutsu unscathed. He himself observed Sasuke for many hours before being sure that the boy was ready for active duty, as did many of his instructors. Of course, with the civilians raising the boy on a golden pedestal because of his clan's name and members of the council all but demanding he be made a ninja for reasons from 'destiny', 'reputations' and for his Sharingan it may not have been as thorough as psychologists such as Inoichi Yamanaka would have liked. Incidentally, it was one of the reasons why he didn't encourage his daughter to go after Sasuke like so many other council members with daughters did.

"Did he pass?" asked Kakashi, but suspected the answer.

"Failing miserably actually," Shen sighed. "When training in my Lion-Ken, I also studied on how to identify the threat level of an opponent in their actions, words, and gestures. It tends to let me know how much an opponent is willing to let loose on me and with how much force. Sometimes I also manage to learn things which make them tick if I'm around them long enough. In short I can be called an expert at reading a person's body language. Body language never lies as far as I know."

"A useful skill," Kakashi nodded. "I suppose you learned something about Sasuke then?"

"Well, this is only guesswork so I may be wrong but…," Shen sighed. "Uchiha is trying to blot out the world in his quest to avenge his clan. He's ignoring just about everyone and everything else save for how they can help him do that. The way his temper seems ready to snap at the mention of the incident makes me think he's full of anger and probably hasn't dealt with the loss just yet, instead drowning himself in his personal revenge quest. I've seen people like that and if this keeps up, he'll probably become desperate to do anything it takes to find the one responsible."

Kakashi sighed. A dead ringer for his observations, save for the detail that Shen may not have noticed, having met Sasuke just prior to the Genin exams; Sasuke absolutely hated being upstaged or proven inferior to anyone. His pride as an Uchiha and his own ego weren't able to take it. He'd already trained himself into a frenzy back in Konoha after his initial defeats to Shen and now he found the boy almost leaping at the chance to go train some more that morning despite having to go watch over Tazuna at the bridge. Kakashi knew from experience that having that much of an ego tended to end up destroying your world when it was suddenly broken by something.

"You seem oddly insightful on this subject despite being twelve," Kakashi noted.

"Well, I may have turned out the same way if the one who took my parents away hadn't been destroyed the same day," Shen sighed, remembering the dark day. "As it is, I got adopted and got help dealing with the issue. I may get upset when the ones responsible come up, but I can still keep my head. And besides, I've seen what happens to people who become desperate for power, desperate to get away from weakness, willing to do anything it takes so they won't lose to anyone."

"You do?" asked Kakashi.

"Remind me to tell you about a fellow named Rio after you're done at the bridge," Shen answered. "For now, we need to be ready for just about anything. I've learnt that no matter how prepared you are life will always throw you curveballs." Shen put on his knuckle dusters and pounded his fists together to emphasize. "Out of curiosity, can I ask who it was that massacred the entire Uchiha clan?"

"That's…classified information," said Kakashi. Well, it really wasn't. All one had to do was ask anyone in Konoha since everyone knew. However, Kakashi didn't believe that it was his place to talk about Itachi Uchiha behind Sasuke's back for no reason.

"I see," nodded Shen. Well, he had enough clues from observing Sasuke for now. At any time he could slip up and blurt out a name then Shen would be able to piece the puzzle together. He knew it had to be someone Sasuke knew, someone he trusted and who was close to him.

Kakashi gave Shen a look and said, "I don't know much about you, save for what Anko told me. So, you have all been trained to fight monsters?"

"Now _that's_ classified," Shen remarked, smiling slightly.

"Fair enough," Kakashi smiled, his eye indicating a smile. "Well, I'd better be off then before Sakura annoys Tazuna to death with her constant demand for dates from Sasuke. See you this evening." With a wave, Kakashi was off to meet up with his team.

"See you later," Shen nodded, watching Kakashi go.

"Shen-sama!" Shen blinked and was about to turn before he got one of Mimi's patented glomps in the back. Raising an eyebrow, he looked over his shoulder to see Mimi beaming at him. "I saw you being broody again! You looked like you needed a hug!"

Shen rolled his eyes at his love interest's face of innocence. While Mimi was usually optimistic and giddy about a lot of things, she didn't usually go into her 'innocent little girl' mode unless she was trying to cheer someone up. Apparently she did more than see his conversation with Kakashi, she must have heard it too.

'_That's fine,_' Shen thought to himself with a small grin, patting Mimi's hands. This would just be another reminder of what Shen strived to be strong for, what he strived to protect and keep, a reminder that he wasn't alone no matter how grim things looked. He had lost his family once and he would not lose another family again. "Where's Naruto?"

"Oh, he's pretty beat. He did train very late last night," Mimi told him.

"And how's Jin?" asked Shen.

"He's doing pretty well. Those herbs we got are working like magic!"

* * *

Towards the bridge, Sasuke was broodier than usual with a scowl so dark it could cause rain to come down on them. Shen had pushed his buttons, something not many could do. Shen had pretty much discovered a few things about Sasuke.

Shen, to Sasuke, was one big mystery. They were both a lot alike. They had lost their families at a young age and both strived to become strong, although it was for different reasons, which was another mystery to the last Uchiha. However, it was different for Sasuke because his clan's murderer had been his own brother. Shen was able to discover, through his reaction, that it'd been someone close to Sasuke but had not learnt that it was his brother. Sasuke just continued to chide himself for letting out a detail like that. Itachi was his business, no one else's!

Sakura was in deep thought, though. Mimi and Shen's words still rang through her mind. Truthfully, Shen and Sasuke could've passed for twins but they were very different despite having experienced the death of their families. Shen, while he seemed cold to most, was warm and caring to his comrades. Her fangirl side just claimed that was how she was sure Sasuke would be once he finally opened up to someone (her) and let them in. However, Shen and Mimi's words kept coming back to her. Did Sasuke really not care about starting a relationship, even if he said he wanted to rebuild his clan and had so many willing offers?

Thinking about Shen's words about Sasuke only made her start thinking of his words concerning her own abilities, which were more or less nonexistent. Sasuke had his clan's jutsus and Naruto and his comrades had their own techniques. Kiba, Shino, and Hinata had their own styles as well. Sakura, who was from a civilian family, only had what the academy had taught her and nothing more. What was more distressing, she hadn't really tried all that hard to make herself the best kunoichi she could be, deciding rather to focus on her looks and book smarts which she was sure would catch Sasuke's attention much like Ino did with her own looks and family jutsus. Obviously it didn't work since they were both very much single and Sasuke didn't bat an eye at either of them beyond telling them how annoying they were.

A thick mist started to roll in. Kakashi's good eye narrowed. The approaching fog had chakra laced into it. There were very, very slight amounts of it and it was almost unnoticeable. If it weren't for the experience he gained being part of the ANBU and recently coming up against someone capable of using mist in such a way, even he might have missed it. Still, he didn't want to alert the user that he was aware of them just yet, so he'd play dumb. When the battle began though, all bets were off.

"Guard Tazuna!" Kakashi barked. He knew the mist was Zabuza's cover and from in it Zabuza could strike from anywhere and at anytime. Sakura took out a kunai as did Sasuke, the latter's eyes narrowed as he tried to pinpoint the threat.

* * *

Meanwhile, near Tazuna's place, Gato had sent a gang of his men to send a message and make an example out of Inari and his mother. He'd done so with Inari's stepfather but clearly the message wasn't getting through to Tazuna if he was going to hire ninja from outside to mess with his business. This way, he was sure to break the old man's spirit and prevent any further rebellion. Even the idea of rebellion would be erased from the minds of the villagers.

However, these men would not even reach Tazuna's place. They were going to be dealing with more than just ninjas.

When leaves floated down around the mercenaries, they didn't think much of it. That was until the leaves suddenly exploded into smoke and transformed into orange-clad blondes that attacked them furiously. Those who didn't get knocked out by the blonde were incapacitated by an invisible force which caused them to feel like their bodies had gained several hundred pounds in an instant, forcing them to their knees due to gravity.

The clones then dispersed, leaving behind leaves as Mimi reappeared. Naruto, who'd been up on the tree, jumped down next to Mimi.

"Looks like these guys were trying to get to Tazuna through his family," said Naruto as he nudged one of them with his foot.

"It's a good thing Anko-sensei sent us to scout around the place," said Mimi.

"True, and it was thanks to me alerting you they were coming close," said Bae who'd buzzed over to land on Mimi's shoulder.

"Yeah, thanks Bae-chan."

Anko and Shen showed up and looked at the men Naruto and Mimi knocked out. Their Jonin instructor whistled, impressed while Shen looked impassive but with a small smile nonetheless.

"Great job, you two," she complimented. She really had to hand it to their trainers.

"So, what now, Anko-sensei?" asked Mimi.

"Well, what do you guys wanna do?" Anko asked.

"To save Wave!" declared Naruto.

"To free everyone from Gato's clutches!" added Shen.

Mimi finished up, "And make everyone smile again!"

"OK, so let's go!" Anko ordered before dashing off to the bridge. Kurenai and her team could handle things from here.

* * *

**KAMEN RIDER CHROME: Looks like we're finally heading towards some action here! Let's see what happens next!**


End file.
